MINE TO HOLD

Things are supposed to go smoothly on your wedding day.

Aren't they?

Shelby

I got a love letter the night before I was supposed to marry the love of my life.

Except the letter wasn't for me.

My future husband had written it to someone else.

Weston (Ace)

Standing at the altar to watch my best friend get married was an honor.

Finding out that he was sleeping with my girlfriend was a nightmare.

Everything I knew was a lie.

When the opportunity came to get out of town and leave my ex behind, I took it.

Umbrella drinks and broken hearts don't mix well.

I shouldn't want Shelby for myself - but I do.

I want her more than I've ever wanted anyone.

Maybe, she was just mine to hold.

Coming July 2022!

Pre-Order Here!

---

MINE TO CHERISH

Clarabella

Did I want to get married today?

It's hard to say when he proposed in front of over a hundred people.

Everything happened so fast, and I thought it was just nerves.

It was not.

The knock on the door showed me that what I was feeling was more than just cold feet.

I was a runaway bride.

Luke

The whole town was busy attending her wedding.

She was the one I let get away when I told her our night together was a mistake and then left town.

So I planned to spend the weekend getting drunk.

When she ran out of the church looking for a hideout, I opened the car door for her.

My cabin has one bed, and my longing looks don't mix well.

Somehow, I have to keep my heart intact and her reputation together.

Maybe she was just mine to cherish.

Coming September 2022!

Pre-Order Here!

---

MINE TO LOVE

Nothing says forever like two pink lines!

Presley

After my sisters’ disastrous weddings, I’m never going to get married.

I’ll just stay single forever.

It doesn’t matter that I’m in love with my brother’s best friend.

Or that Bennett and I shouldn’t even be friends with benefits.

Until the positive sign tells me I’m pregnant.

Bennett

I fell in love with Presley when she was eighteen and asked me for a favor.

She didn’t want to go to college a virgin.

I said no, but she kissed me, and I was lost in her.

Years later, I’ll take her with any rules she gives me.

She thinks this is just a fling. She’s wrong.

Because she’s always been mine to love.

Coming October 2022!

Pre-Order Here!

Dearest Love,

So much has happened since we last spoke. Travis and Harlow got married and could not be happier.

But it's that time again. The wedding season, when everyone is finding their best outfits to be worn.

Shelby will soon be walking down the aisle. Or will she?

It seems a pesky little email was sent to her the night before her wedding. A sort of declaration of love. Some would swoon, except was she the intended woman?

Will they get their happily ever after, or was she always meant for someone else?

Time will tell!

XOXO

NM

Shelby

"Happy day before your wedding day!" Clarabella shouts as she comes into my office with her hands in the air, one of them with a clipboard and the other with her phone. "You look so pretty." She takes me in as I stand in front of the mirror in another new outfit I bought for the day.

"You don't think it's too much?” Looking back into the mirror, I smooth down the dress. "Should I have had it in white instead?" The dress is a blush pink and has a sweetheart neckline with small cap sleeves attached to the dress, all ruffled. A ruffled piece goes down the middle of my chest, showing off my boobs and then to the side, and zigzags back until the floor. The slit in the front shows off my legs that I've been working out to get for the past six months.

"I don't know about that," Presley says, coming in right behind Clarabella. "But your body is banging." She shakes her head. "All that work in the gym, and you went with a Cinderella-style dress. Pity."

"Hey," Clarabella snaps at her. "No negative talk on the day before the wedding." She glares at Presley, who just shrugs her shoulders.

"Are you ready to go over the last-minute list?" Presley asks, and I nod my head.

"This I can do," I mumble to them, walking over to my desk to grab my list. I ignore the way my stomach flip-flops all over the place. "It's probably going to calm me down." I pull out the big white chair from in front of my white desk and sit down. My hands shake just a touch, and I look up to see if my sisters noticed but find them looking down at their phones doing something. They are dressed in pantsuits, one is a light yellow, and the other is a light blue. If I wasn't the bride, I would probably be wearing the same thing as them.

My desk is perfectly organized, with the middle of the desk clear with just one folder on it, and it's the one for this weekend. A picture of Joseph and me taken when he proposed to me is on the side of my desk right next to my computer screen. Another photo is of my sisters and me when we officially opened our wedding service, Happily Ever After. "Are we going to start?" I look over at them, and they look up from their phones.

"This is going to be amazing," Clarabella says, coming over and sitting on one of the two white chairs that face my desk. "Wedding of the decade."

"I mean, let's be honest, it’s going to be a lot better than Travis's first wedding." Presley sits in the chair next to Clarabella. "We've already set the bar higher on that one with the kitchen not catching on fire."

I gasp. "Why would you say that and put it in the universe?" I squeeze my hands together in fists. "It's like out there now. Ready to come back and boom. Kitchen on fire."

"Since when are you superstitious?" Presley just eyes me. "Out of all of us, you are the last person who's even remotely superstitious."

I just look at them, trying to mask all the things going through my head right now. I shouldn't be this nervous. I’ve done this a thousand times. Yes, but not personally. With each bride, I leave a little bit of myself in their shoes. "There was that one time that the mirror in the bride's room shattered." Clarabella looks over at Presley.

"That was because she was having sex against it," I point out, "with the groom's father."

"Oh, yeah, that should have been a sign." Presley taps her phone that is on her lap with her finger. "We must have done something right. She’s coming back for her second wedding."

"Nothing says I really loved what you guys did with my first wedding than to come back for a second time," Presley says, looking down at her notes and starting. "Everything has been reconfirmed." I look down on my list that is all blacked out with check marks beside it. "We have them setting up for the rehearsal dinner right now."

"Which looks amazing," Clarabella says, and I just stare at her. "What? You know the rules. We plan each other's wedding."

"The only thing I've been able to do is book the food and the waitstaff," I huff, not used to not being the one in control.

"That's not true. We let you choose the dress," Presley retorts, leaning back in her chair when her phone beeps.

"And be happy we even let you handle that." Clarabella smiles at me. "And if I'm being honest, I would have chosen the other one." She gets up. "It's just a couple more minutes, and we will call you to come out, and you can take it all in." She looks over at Presley. "It gives us a chance to change."

"You're changing?" I ask, and they just look at me.

"Of course, we are changing. You aren't the only one who gave up carbs for the last six months," Clarabella says. "Also, would never recommend." I just laugh.

"But we felt so much better." I point at her.

"And I'll feel so much better tomorrow when I shove doughnuts down my pie hole," Presley says. "Pie . . . that sounds so good. I think I just drooled." She brings her hand to her mouth. "When you get married." She looks at Clarabella. "I'm not doing this carb-free shit."

"As if." Clarabella pffts at her. "You will be married before me." They walk to the door, then she looks back at me. "Only come out when I call you." She points at me and walks out of the room.

Getting up, I shake my head, looking down at the four-carat princess-cut ring sitting on my left hand. A smile comes to my face when I think of when he gave it to me. I don't know if I was expecting it or not, but deep down inside, I was more surprised than I thought I would be. Married. It was a big deal, especially with seeing the things I've seen doing my job. My stomach does a little flip, and I walk to look out the window as the florist truck pulls up.

When my sisters and I decided to go into business together, we got the idea from our mom and aunt, who ran a small wedding planning business. But the three of us didn't just want to plan weddings. No, we wanted to be the best event planners in the business, and with that came the idea to build our own event space. We bought a huge piece of land and slowly built it up.

Our main offices were in a nice little bungalow we built with three offices upstairs where the bedrooms would be, and the downstairs was a little setup of things we have done along with pictures of all our events. I look off toward the right and see the food truck as well. The main thing that took the longest to build was the event building.

It looks like a barn from the outside, but once you get inside, the wooden floors are rustic with exposed wooden beams that can be dressed up. It can fit up to five hundred and fifty people. Right behind the barn is a kitchen where the caterers can set up.

My eyes see another truck arriving and heading toward the little house adjacent to the event space. It's what usually sells the brides on this place. It's a massive three-bedroom bridal suite. I see white flowers being carried in as well as my dress. The dress that I spent about three months designing. The dress that I was sure in my heart was my dream dress. So what if when I tried it on, I didn't get that little butterfly feeling that everyone says you get, but I think it was just nerves.

I put my hand to my stomach, waiting for the butterflies to flutter and come up empty. "It's going to be fine," I tell myself. "It's just nerves because I haven't done anything."

My phone rings on my desk, and I walk over to see that it's Clarabella. "Hello." I put the phone to my ear, and I hear her walking somewhere.

"You may make your way down," she says, and I walk over to the shoes in the corner and slip them on. They are mesh with white diamond studs on them. I'm also wearing them tomorrow, and I've counted them as my something old. "Happy day before your wedding, Shelby," she says, and I can hear the smile in her voice. "It's going to be amazing."

"I know it will," I say to her. "No one knows me quite like you two," I say, smiling. "I'm on my way." I walk over to the mirror and take a final look at myself, tucking a piece of black hair behind one ear. The curls are still holding from this afternoon. My makeup is very natural, just like I wanted it. I take a deep breath. "Here we go."

I pull open my office door and see Mallory, our head waitstaff server, with a silver tray and a crystal champagne glass. "What is this?"

"Happy day before your wedding, Shelby," she says, handing me the glass. "You look beautiful."

"Thank you," I reply, grabbing the glass and trying to take a sip, but my nerves get the best of me, and I finish it all. I look at Mallory, trying to find the words, when she pulls a shot glass out from behind her. "I don't think that's a good idea." The words come out of my mouth, but my hand is grabbing the glass, and I take the shot. I hiss as the liquid burns all the way down. "That was definitely a bad idea." We share a smile. "How many of these have we done together?” I ask, turning and walking out with her beside me.

"More than I can count," she says, smiling at me and leaning into me. "Are you ready?" she urges, holding the door of the venue in her hand.

"Not even a bit," I admit, and she just laughs.

"How hard was it to let go of the control and have them plan the whole thing?" she asks.

"Don't tell anyone," I say, making sure that my dress is perfect. "But I tried to break into their emails at least four times." I side-eye her as she just laughs out loud. "I wish I was kidding."

"Well, I hope it was worth it," she says and pulls open the door, and I step in. The photographer is there waiting to catch the moment that I see everything. I glare at him, and he laughs while I hear him clicking away.

"Happy day before your wedding," he says to me from behind the camera, and I flip him the bird.

"These pictures are going to be up on the website," he tells me, and it's my turn to laugh.

I look around, speechless at what my sisters did. It's perfect. Everything is perfect. When they asked me what I thought it should be, I said a forest wedding. I put my hands to my mouth as I take it all in. The trees are everywhere, and I can only imagine what is to come. It looks like we are in the middle of the forest.

I look around for my sisters, knowing they are somewhere, when I see them in the corner talking to each other as they both type nervously on their phones. I wait a couple of seconds to see if they look over at me, but I can see from their faces that something is wrong.

"What's wrong?" I ask, my voice loud. The two of them look over at me, and I know exactly what they are doing when they smile.

"Oh, look at how beautiful you look," Clarabella says, putting her phone behind her.

"Knock that shit out. You saw me before," I remind her, putting my hands on my hips when the door opens, and I see some guests come in. I walk over to my sisters, smiling and waving at a couple of people who come in. "What's going on?"

"Nothing," Presley says. "How do you like the decorations?"

"They suck," I say, knowing that it's going to bother them. I'm right when they both gasp. "Now, what is all the chatter about?"

"What do you mean?" Clarabella asks, looking around, trying to pretend, but I know she's lying.

"I swear to God," I say, my teeth clenched tight.

"Okay, fine," Presley relents, and I see Clarabella open her eyes wide. "Don't freak out, but"—she looks around with a smile on her face, making it seem like everything is okay—"Joseph is MIA."

Shelby

My heart speeds up faster in my chest. The last thing anyone wants to hear right before they start their wedding festivities is the “don't freak out” speech. It doesn’t, in fact, ever work, and the other person automatically starts to freak the fuck out. "Joseph is MIA." I hear the words come out of her mouth, and they’re slowly beginning to seep into my brain.

"What?" I shake my head, not sure I understand what she is saying. My body feels like it's coming out of itself. I put my hand on my stomach, feeling the need because I feel like I'm going to barf all over the place.

"She's in shock," Clarabella says, and I'm about to tell her to fuck off when someone puts their hand on my back.

"Hey." I hear Ace's voice before I turn and look at him. "You look beautiful," he compliments, leaning down and kissing my cheek. He looks at my sisters and then looks at me. He's dressed in a tailored blue suit. His baby-blue button-down shirt has the two top buttons open. "Who died?" He chuckles nervously, and I don't know why all the words are suddenly stuck in my throat. It's all these fucking nerves.

"No one died," Presley says between clenched teeth, her own eyes going big as she looks around the room to see if maybe she sees Joseph.

"God, can you imagine," Clarabella voices out loud, laughing, and the only sound I can make is a groan. "That might be even worse than being left at the altar." Her face goes into a grimace before Presley hits her, and she looks at me. "He's not dead." She tries to sound calm about it, but all she can do is laugh nervously. "We would have been contacted."

"Maybe you should stop talking," Presley urges between clenched teeth toward Clarabella.

"Okay, everyone needs to calm down a minute." I hold up my hands finally. "There has to be a reason he's late." I look at my wrist, but I took off my watch for this outfit. "What time is it?"

Ace picks up his arm and turns it, and I see his monogram on his sleeve with the cuff links I bought him when he became a partner at his firm. We've been friends since we took our first business class together in college. After a couple of study groups, we found we had lots in common and just started hanging out with each other more and more. When we both graduated, I moved back home, and it was just my luck that the company he would be working for was opening an office in town. It was at Ace's New Year's Eve party that I met Joseph. "It's five thirty."

"He's not late." I look at my sisters. "It starts at five thirty."

"It started at five," Presley says and then looks at Ace. "You're late. As the best man, you were supposed to be here at five."

"One." He holds up his finger. "I was here at four forty-five," he argues. "And two, I had a business call I had to take."

"Hey, sorry I'm late," my brother, Travis, says as he rushes to us. "We just . . ." He starts to say and then looks around, spotting his wife, Harlow, walking in with their baby in her arms. They were college sweethearts, and he broke up with her two weeks before they graduated, not wanting to change her plans. Four years later, she showed up at his wedding. Needless to say, he wasn't meant to marry Jennifer in the first place. "It's been a day," he admits and then looks at us. "What's going on?" His eyes go from me to my sisters and then back to me.

"Nothing is going on," I confirm while Presley blurts out, "Just a minor issue." She holds up her thumb and finger, showing a small space. "Joseph isn't here." I watch Travis's face and see that his eyes go big, but when he looks at me and sees I'm looking at him, he pretends it's okay.

"Well, we had traffic driving here," Travis informs us, and I can tell from his face he's lying right through his teeth, and if I wasn't nervous already, I would call him out on it.

"It's not a minor issue," Clarabella says, and I close my eyes.

"Can we not do this right now?" I look at them as they glare at each other. "There has to be a reason." I look around, smiling at people who are arriving and holding up my hand to say hello. "Give me a phone." I look at the three of them. "Someone, give me a phone." I run out of patience.

Clarabella hands me her phone, and I dial Joseph's number, putting the phone to my ear and trying not to freak out externally. Internally, however, I'm a fucking mess. How is this happening? Why isn't he here? Is he dead? I shake my head to get that thought out of my head. I wait for him to answer, counting to ten in my head. "Answer the phone," I mumble and turn around so no one can see the tears that are forming in my eyes. The phone picks up, and I feel better until I hear the automatic message.

"Hi, you reached Joseph," I hear his voice say, "I can't take your call right now." I look over my shoulder at the four of them, who just look at me.

"Hey, it's me. Can you call me back?" I hang up the phone and look back at them. "He didn't answer."

"Maybe he's busy," Clarabella offers. "But not dead."

"You are the worst." Presley turns to Clarabella, and I think she's going to hit her.

"He's not dead," Travis says. "Why would you even say that?" He shakes his head. "He's going to be here." He puts his hands in his pockets now. "And if he isn’t, I'll go out and find him myself."

I look down at the phone, blinking away the tears and trying to tell myself that it's going to be okay. My hands shake with the phone as I will it to ring when hands are on my arms. I look up and see Ace. "Hey," he says softly. "You know what he's probably doing?" I look into his blue eyes.

"Not dying." Presley leans in, and I have to laugh as I wipe the corner of my eye.

"Yes, he's not dying," Ace assures me. "He's out buying you a gift."

Clarabella snaps her fingers and then points. "Yessss," she says as if she solved the whole thing. "He's getting you a bride's gift."

"That has to be it." Travis smiles at me.

"You know men," Presley says as she leers at Travis. "They always wait until the last minute to do everything." And then at Ace.

"What is that look even for?" He glares back at her. "Why am I getting that look?" He shakes his head and looks back at me. "We were talking about it today," he says. "That's why he is late."

I nod my head, not sure I can say anything. "You know what we need?" Clarabella says, looking around and holding up her finger toward Mallory, who just nods at her. Clarabella turns and looks back at me. "You are going to grab a glass of champagne, and then you are going to go out there and mingle with your guests." She motions with her hand. "I mean, we aren't even starting anything until six thirty, so he has enough time to get here."

"Yes," Ace agrees. "Besides, you know he's always late." He tries to comfort me, rubbing his hands up and down my arms. "It's a good thing he'll be sleeping at my house tonight."

"Yes." I smile and push away the nagging feeling that I'm getting now. "I'm sure he's fine," I say and look over at Mallory, who walks over with the same silver tray that she had when she came to greet me at my office door.

"Here you go," she offers, handing me the glass of champagne, and Ace drops his hands from my arms and stands next to me.

"Okay," I say, taking a sip. The sweet cold bubbly champagne hits my tongue. "We need to go out there and pretend that everything is okay." I look at them as they all nod at me. "We take sections of the place and work our way around. If anyone hears from Joseph . . ."

"We'll come and get you," Clarabella says, smiling at me and nodding as I walk away from them.

"He's going to be here," Travis reassures me, turning and walking toward Harlow, who stands talking to one of my aunts.

I look around the room, spotting my mother standing by the front door greeting people. She smiles at the man who walks in and then turns to look at me. Her eyes meet mine, and her smile starts to fade, but then she turns it back on as she makes her way to me. She's wearing a baby-blue off-the-shoulder dress that goes down to the floor. Her blond hair is in a perfect bob with a string of pearls around her neck. She's been without my father for a while now, and all she does is make sure that we are all right. "Hi," she says, leaning toward me to kiss my cheeks. "Why are you crying?"

"I'm not crying." I don't look back at her. Instead, I take another drink of my champagne.

"You forget who you are talking to." She side-eyes me and smiles, nodding her head at someone who just waved at her.

"It's nothing. Might be nerves," I share, not ready to admit that something might be wrong because I don't know. "Did my dress arrive?" I ask, and she nods. "What about the headpiece? Did it finally come in?" She smiles and nods. I'm going through the checklist in my head to keep my mind off what is really going on. "Did my pjs for tomorrow morning get steamed?"

She's about to say something when I see Presley running toward us. "It's Joseph." She hands me the phone, and my shoulders slump just a touch.

"Hello." I put the phone to my ear and hear that he's in the car.

"Hey, honey," he says. "I'm so sorry I'm late. I’m around the corner."

"That's okay," I reply, but inside, I know it's not okay, and if it was any other time, I would probably freak out more if there weren't so many people around me. "Just get here when you can," I say and disconnect, putting away the anger I have in me.

"He's fine," I inform Presley. "He's on his way. Will be here in a couple of minutes."

"I'll go and tell the valet to keep a lookout for him," she tells me and squeezes my hand when she takes the phone. "It's almost showtime."

"Almost." I smile at her, trying to pretend I'm okay. I take another sip of my champagne when I look up and see Sheila walking into the venue. Ace spots her right away and walks to her with a smile on his face.

I can't help but smile when I look at them. They started dating a couple of months after Joseph and I did. We had so many double dates that I've grown very close to her and consider her one of my best friends.

My eyes go to the door when I see Joseph walking in. His black suit looks like he just put it on, his blond hair looks like he just ran his hand through it, and it even looks like it's wet in the back. "Hey." He smiles when he sees me and bends to kiss my lips. "Sorry I'm late."

"No worries," I say, ignoring the pull in my stomach. "Now that you're here." I put down the glass in my hand and clap my hands. "Let's get the show on the road."

Shelby

"Let's get the show on the road," Joseph repeats from beside me as I smell his aftershave. He puts his hand in mine, and picks up my hand, and brings it to his lips. "You look nice," he says with a smirk.

"Thank you," I say, trying to tell myself that it's all good that he's here, but I'm pissed he showed up so late.

"Oh, look who showed up," Presley declares, giving him a side glare.

"So, he's not dead after all," Clarabella adds, coming up behind her.

"What?" he asks, confused, looking at my sisters and then turning to look at me. His eyebrows are pressed together.

"Nothing." I shake my head. "Can we just get on with it?" I say between clenched teeth.

"Yes, let's," Presley says, and she turns, clapping her hands. "If I can have everyone's attention," she announces, and everyone stops talking and looks over at us. She starts directing people to their places. Joseph's hand slips out of mine, and I see him walking toward his parents. His mother smiles at him, and he shakes his father's hand as he goes in for a side hug.

I'm usually the one who does all of this, but with me being the bride, Presley is taking over this part. "I need you to stand right there," she tells me as she pulls me out of the venue space, and I see Clarabella and Sheila coming over to me.

"You look absolutely stunning," Sheila compliments once she sees me. "I'm so sorry I was late. I was stuck in traffic, and then I couldn't find my bag for tomorrow." She shakes her head. "It was a mess." Her blond hair is piled on top of her head with soft curls coming out on the side, her green eyes made up with a smoky look, making them pop more.

"Okay, Sheila," Presley directs. "I need you to walk down the aisle, counting to three every time you take the next step.” Sheila nods at her and walks down the aisle as we do a run-through for the next day. It takes about an hour for us to get it the way that Presley thinks works, and I won't even bother telling her that it's probably going to not be right at all, but it'll be okay.

"Time for us to eat," Joseph says from beside me, and everyone walks over to the tables that are set up to eat. "Are you hungry?" he smiles at me and asks.

"Yeah," I answer, and I can't tell you what I feel right now. It's a feeling I don't think I would be able to explain. He walks over to the table and pulls out the chair for me. I sit down and wait for everyone to sit. Mallory comes over and fills up the champagne glasses at the table.

"You okay?" Ace asks from beside me, and I nod my head. "You look pale."

"Thanks," I tell him, and he just laughs.

"You are fine." He shakes his head and looks over at Sheila, who just sits there talking to Clarabella next to her.

"If I can have everyone's attention." Joseph stands up, clicking the champagne glass in front of him with a spoon. The whole room goes quiet as Presley sits next to him in the empty seat right next to Harlow. "I just want to thank everyone for coming out tonight," he says. "And for Shelby not ripping into me for being late," he jokes, and everyone else laughs. He looks down at me, and all I can do is fake a smile as all eyes are on me. "But all joking aside." He puts his hand on my shoulder. "I can't wait until tomorrow. Love you, honey." He leans down and kisses my lips. "Cheers." He holds up his glass, and I look around as everyone picks up their glasses and holds them toward us. I grab my glass and hold it up.

"We said no speeches until tomorrow," Clarabella reminds him while she smiles at us. "Someone didn't get the memo."

"Someone can hear just fine," Joseph replies, sitting down. "I was just saying thank you." He puts his hand around my chair now. "It was okay, right?" he asks, and I just nod my head as a plate of food is put in front of me.

"You are too quiet," Ace says from beside me. "And that should scare anyone."

"I'm just thinking about tomorrow," I tell him. "When it's your turn"—I smile at him, knowing that tomorrow, he will be proposing to Sheila—"I'll be reminding you when you get quiet all of a sudden."

"Nah," he denies, grabbing his bottle of beer. "With you handling everything, I know it will be perfect."

I finally laugh for the first time today. "Touché," I tell him, grabbing my own glass. "Touché."

"Okay, it's time for the bride to hit the road," Clarabella directs. "We have a whole night of pampering and drinking to get on with."

"Are we really doing the whole not seeing each other until the wedding day?" Joseph shakes his head, getting up. "It's pretty stupid."

"So is showing up late, but it is what it is." Clarabella shrugs, and he just looks at her. "You can survive the night without her."

"He'll be fine," Ace says, standing up. "Besides, he's staying with me tonight." He puts his hand on Joseph's shoulder. "I have all sorts of things planned for us," he jokes with him. "But it's mainly just us watching sports and drinking beer."

"That I can do," Joseph affirms, getting up and putting his linen napkin on the table and tucking in his chair. He leans down and kisses my lips before walking out with Ace and Sheila, leaving me alone with my sisters and my brother.

I stand up. "I can't believe this time tomorrow you'll be married," Travis says as the four of us walk out of the venue. "Like two more to go."

"Hey, watch your mouth," Clarabella clips. "No one wants this negativity around them." She holds up her hand toward my brother. "Don't put that shit into the universe."

We all laugh at her. "I'm going to be a lone wolf," Presley claims, and I have to stop and just laugh at her. She has been trying to skate around Bennett, my brother's best friend, for the last four years, but we all see it.

"Let me get you home," Travis suggests, opening the driver's door. "So Mom can stop blowing up my phone." I take one more look at the venue before I sit down in the car; the whole ride to my mother's house, all I can do is look out the window. So many things are going through my head, and all I can do is try to talk myself off the ledge.

When I finally get into my mother's house, I'm shocked when I walk into the door. Her living room has been transformed into a massage area. Three massage tables are up with the masseuses behind them just smiling at us. "This is serenity lane," my mother says with a huge smile on her face. All I can do is stare at it with my mouth hanging open.

"There is more," she shares, looking at the other side of the house where the dining room is usually set, and there are bowls of water and massage chairs waiting to be filled with three manicure tables. "All we want is for you to relax and unwind."

She comes to me and hands me a glass of champagne. "Welcome to your last night of freedom." Clarabella leans over to me. "Now, you go upstairs and change." She points at the stairs, and I nod my head, walking up to the room that I had when I was a teenager. I open the door seeing a plush white robe on the bed with the word Bride embroidered in pink. I finish the glass of champagne and put it beside me on the bedside table.

I sit down on the bed, and the nerves in my stomach come back as I pick up the robe in my hand. My fingers trail over the stitches across the back of the robe. "This is everything you've wanted," I tell myself, trying to calm my heartbeat that is going a million miles a minute. "Tomorrow, you will walk down the aisle, and it'll be all over."

There is a knock on the door, and I look up, and I don't even notice that I am teary-eyed until the tear falls off my chin. "Oh, God, don't you start also," Clarabella says, coming into the room with my phone in her hand. "We just had to make Mom breathe into a paper bag. She was hyperventilating and then snot crying." She shakes her head, sitting down next to me.

"I'm fine," I assure her, looking at her. "I mean, it feels just weird."

"It's normal," she tells me. "It's like a big deal."

"We are around brides all the time, so this should be a piece of cake for me." I take a deep sigh in and then look at the ceiling.

"It's different when you're the bride," Clarabella says. "You have all these things going through your head, but you know that we've taken care of everything." And I know she has. "Everything is ordered, and we have people sleeping at the venue to make sure nothing goes wrong." I gasp in shock. "This is not our first rodeo." She shakes her head. "Now I want you to change out of that fabulous dress and get your skinny carb-free ass downstairs to get pampered, and we can talk about how Joseph is the last penis you'll ever see." I gasp when she opens the door. "Forever," she whispers, making me laugh.

I shake my head and get up to slip out of my dress when my phone beeps from the bed. I pick it up, not knowing that it will change the course of my life. I pick it up, not expecting that at that moment, my whole life is going to change. I pick it up innocently. The only thing going through my mind is me walking down the aisle. I pick it up with a smile on my face when I see it's from Joseph, and it's an email. My finger hovers over it as I press the notification to open it, and just like that, my house of cards comes falling down!

Ace

"Aren't you going to change out of your suit?" I ask Joseph when I walk down the steps to the living room. "You were bitching in the car that you felt suffocated." We got home from the wedding rehearsal about thirty minutes ago. The first thing I did was walk upstairs to my bedroom and put on my gym shorts and a T-shirt. I thought he was going to do the same, but now that I think about it, I didn't see him bring in his bag.

"Yeah, in a bit," Joseph says, looking up from his phone. He is in the middle of the couch, his fingers flying, going a million miles a minute. The television is on over the fireplace, playing the highlights of all the baseball games that are going on right now.

"Beer or whiskey?" I ask, and he barely looks up at me.

"Whatever you want to have," he mumbles, and I walk into the kitchen right off the family room. When I went looking for houses, I knew that I wanted to buy a house where I could start a family. The kitchen area is what sold me on the whole house. There is a massive island in the middle with stools all around it that faces the fridge and stove, and I can just see everyone coming together in this spot.

Pulling open the double-door stainless-steel fridge, I see that my cleaning lady made sure that it's stocked for the weekend. I see the prepared meals on the shelves with fruit right next to it.

I grab two bottles of beer from the door. Even though the house has an amazing kitchen, I've cooked in it maybe twice in over a year. I open two drawers before I finally find the bottle opener, and I have to laugh at myself and make a mental note that I'm going to cook for myself at least twice a week starting next week. Or at least get to know what is in the drawers and in the cabinets.

"Here you go." I walk out of the kitchen toward the family room with two bottles of beer in my hand. I sit next to him on the long L-shaped big comfy couch and hold out my hand, offering Joseph one of the beers. I see that he's still on his phone, his eyebrows pinched together as his fingers still go. "What are you doing?" I take a pull from my beer as he slouches down on the couch with his cell phone in his hand. He presses the send button and finally looks over at me.

"Just sent out a last-minute email before I leave for seven days on my honeymoon." He reaches out for his beer while he puts the phone down on his chest once he goes back to his original position.

"Always grinding." I smile at him, and he just laughs.

"Well, I do have you to thank for this job," he says, holding up his beer to me. I lean over and click the neck of my beer to his. He graduated a year after me in finance. He had no direction to where he wanted to go. I invited him to come and stay with me for a couple of weeks to see if he could get a job at the local bank since I knew the branch manager. He was hired a week after he moved here. He is trying to build his client portfolio to start his own financial planning business.

"Anything for you," I say, taking a pull of my beer. Joseph and I have been best friends since we were in elementary school. Always in the same sports. Always on the same team. He was more of a brother to me than a friend. There is nothing that I wouldn't do for him. Always attached at the hip until college. We both applied to the same college, but he didn't get in, so we went our separate ways. Luckily, we were always in touch with each other.

"I thought I would be more advanced in my job, that's for sure." He takes a pull of his beer. It is coming to him slower than he wants it to come, which irritates him. He never did have patience.

"It'll come." I try to encourage him, and he just rolls his eyes. I laugh at him. We both had different school years. I hit the books hard while he rode the party train until the bitter end.

"This from the guy who got his own team within a year." He chuckles, and I just look over at him, confused.

"I busted my ass." I sit up now. "Day in and day out, seven days a week." When I got chosen for my internship at one of the biggest merger and acquisition companies in the States, I was so excited. I worked eighty-hour weeks, and it paid off because when I graduated, they offered me a new branch they were opening in my hometown. It was a no-brainer that I would take the job, plus building my own team.

"Yeah, yeah," Joseph says, smiling at me, and the worry that was on his face before is gone. "This is probably why they started calling you Ace in elementary school." It started in sixth grade when one of the teachers called me that, and the other kids laughed and thought they were dissing me by calling me Ace, but at the end of the day, it's the coolest nickname. I thought I would grow out of it, but it stayed with me. Very few people call me Weston, and if they do, it's because they don't know me very well.

I shake my head. "It was probably the straight As," I joke with him and turn to look at him. "But I'm hoping it was because I was a cool kid."

He laughs, slapping his leg. "The only thing cool about you in high school was me." He points at himself.

"Fuck off." I shake my head. "I was the star quarterback."

"Only because I was sick with food poisoning," he counters, and I flip him the bird.

"You ready for tomorrow?" I ask as he takes a pull of his beer. He just looks over at me and shrugs.

"I guess." I start to laugh. "What do you mean if I'm ready for tomorrow?"

"Are you ready to get married tomorrow?" I shake my head, taking a pull of my beer. The baseball game on the television is playing in the background.

"Is anyone ever ready to get married?" he asks, and my head whips around to look at him. He chuckles and looks at me. "Are you ready to get married?"

I think about the question. "I'm not even engaged yet." I laugh. "But I'm excited to start another chapter in my life," I answer him honestly. "Becoming a husband is huge, and I'm ready for it and then hopefully a father soon after. But that is all in Sheila's court. She tells me when she's ready, and we can start." He just nods his head and takes another pull of his beer. Sheila and I have been together a little less than a year. We met while waiting in line for coffee one day. She smashed into me as she turned, and her iced coffee went all over us. One thing led to another, and we went on a date a couple of days later. Slowly, we just got into the groove of dating each other. It helped so much that she got along with my friends so easily, especially Shelby. It wasn't always easy, that is for sure. I had to cancel a couple of dates because of work, but she always understood. She is building her career as a graphic designer and knows how hard it takes to grow your business.

"Aren't you ready for all of that?" I watch the play on the screen before looking over at him and seeing him with a faraway look on his face.

"I guess," he says, pulling another sip of beer.

"Shelby is amazing," I say, and he looks at me. It's no lie that she's amazing. From the first day I met her during a business class, something with us just clicked. We had the same goals and studied the same way, so it was amazing to find someone like her. The more time we spent together, the more I liked her. When they started dating, I was definitely surprised. I never thought the two of them were a good fit. Especially since Shelby is a “straight and narrow” kind of person, and Joseph is a really “fly by the seat of your pants” kind of guy. But after spending time with them, I saw that opposites attract. "You're a lucky man."

He nods his head at me. "I'm not the only one who is lucky. Sheila," he says, shaking his head and pulling another sip from his beer. "She's perfect."

"That she is," I agree with him. "Look at us, man." I look over at him.

"I never thought I would see the day when you settled down." I look over at him. It was no secret the women loved Joseph, and Joseph loved the women. All through high school and college and then even when he moved here, but when he met Shelby, he stopped.

"Neither did I, to be honest." He takes a deep breath and gets up. "But you got to grow up someday, and how good is it having a kick-ass boss lady at your side." He winks at me and turns to walk toward the stairs. "I'm going to go shower." He walks up the steps and stops. "If it's meant to be, it will be, right?" He just looks at me for a second, and he's about to tell me something, but then he turns and walks up the steps with his shoulders slumped.

"What in the fuck is going on?" I ask out loud, and then I take a pull of my beer. This time, it tastes bitter going down.

Picking up my phone, I dial Sheila, who answers after two rings. "Hello." Her voice is low.

"Hey, it's me," I say. "Were you sleeping?"

"Yeah, I guess I must have dozed off," she says. Her voice sounds groggy, and it almost sounds as if she's crying. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, I was just calling to say good night." I smile and look toward the coffee table in the middle of the room. The picture of the two of us is facing down on the table. Leaning forward, I pick up the frame, seeing the picture of the two of us when we had our first date. I place it back up next to the picture of the four of us taken four months ago on New Year's Eve. The four of us smiling next to each other.

"Okay," she says softly. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah, I'll be the one beside the groom," I joke with her, waiting for her to give anything, but she doesn't.

"I'll be the first one down the aisle." She tries to joke back with me, but her tone is all out of whack.

"Night," I say, and she hangs up, and I look at my phone.

"I changed my mind," I hear Joseph mumble when he comes back downstairs with just his boxers on. I look at him as he walks into the kitchen, and I hear him rumbling through things. I hear the cupboard doors keep slamming and all I can do is wait for him to come out. When he walks out, he's holding a bottle of whiskey in his hand. "Definitely need a couple of shots of this tonight." He unscrews the top and takes a deep pull of it. "Want some?" He offers me the bottle, and I just shake my head.

"Wedding night jitters." I laugh, leaning forward.

"I guess so," he says, taking another pull. "It'll be fine," he says more to himself than me as he takes another gulp of whiskey. "It'll be just fine."

Shelby

"We can't be late," my mother says, walking out of the house. Actually, it's more like she is running out of the house.

"Yes, we can't be late," I mumble, walking down the steps of my family home, the festivities of last night already cleaned up. "How long has she been up for?" I ask my sisters, who come in the room looking as good as I feel. All three of us are dragging our asses.

"She came into my room at five to talk," Clarabella says. "Can't believe I didn't lock the door."

I walk out of the house, and I have to squint when the sun hits my eyes. "It's so bright," I whine, looking over at my sisters, who are wearing the same thing I'm wearing. White satin pants and a button-down short-sleeve satin shirt. Each shirt has our roles on it embroidered in pink. Bride is on mine, and I look down, and I want to rip it off.

I'm about to walk upstairs when I hear the horn going and look back to see my mother with her head out of the window. "We are going to be late!” she yells and then smiles. "My baby is getting married!” she screams and honks the horn again.

"Mom, it's seven o’clock," Clarabella hisses at her. "If I was your neighbor, I would call the cops on you,” she huffs, walking down the stairs, and I see Maid of Honor Number 1 on the back of her shirt.

"Might as well get in the car," Presley says, huffing and walking past me. "Or else she's going to pull you kicking and screaming all the way to the fucking altar."

"Well, that's a picture that I'd love to see," I huff, closing the door behind me, and I walk toward the car.

"I told you girls not to stay up late," my mother scolds when I get into the car. "I said that it was a bad idea when you took out the special sweet tea that Harlow's grandfather makes."

"Mom, a little less judgment," Clarabella says from the back seat. "And a little more driving to get me coffee."

"I agree with her," Presley adds. "All she needs is coffee, and she'll feel better."

I close my eyes as the car starts going and all I can do is see the words that I read last night. Over and over again like a billboard in Times Square. I open my eyes when the car stops right in front of where the bridal suite is set up. Balloons are all in front, and Mallory is there waiting for us.

"Here, put this on," Clarabella says from beside me, handing me black sunglasses.

"Why?" I ask her, and my head feels like it weighs over a thousand pounds. I blink and suddenly realize I had tears in my eyes.

"Because you look like shit," Presley informs me.

"Can we all be nice to your sister? This is her wedding day!" my mother hisses at Presley and then looks in the back at me. "Perhaps maybe you should put the glasses on, dear."

"Wow," I say out loud, putting the glasses on and getting out.

"Happy wedding day," Mallory greets, coming out from the suite with a smile on her face, and she stops midstep. "Oh, dear."

"It's going to be fine," I hiss. "We just need ice and maybe something to drink."

I walk to the door and pull it open, stepping in, and I stop in my tracks. My sisters went all out. There is a white veil hanging from the two sides that look like curtains. I take a step in and see that my dress is on a mannequin in the middle of the room on a pedestal. The three dresses are hanging up behind mine. The photographer is already taking pictures, and my stomach lurches. I think I'm going to be sick.

"Isn't it beautiful?" I hear my mother from beside me. She puts an arm around my shoulder and kisses my forehead. "It's so beautiful." All I can do is look around. All the walls are covered with white curtains. A plush white couch sits in the middle of the wall with two monster white flower arrangements beside it on white pillar stands. Two more are on the floor on each side of the couch with glass vases filled with water and floating candles.

"It's the most beautiful room I've seen," I confirm, looking around at everything they did.

"Good morning," I hear from behind me and see Sheila coming in. "Happy wedding day," she says, smiling at me, and I smile back. "This room." She looks around. "It's beyond perfect." She comes and hugs me. "I'm so excited for you."

"Thank you," I say when she lets me go, and I look at her and then look behind her, seeing that the makeup artists are arriving as well as the hairdresser.

"Okay, people," Clarabella announces, coming into the room. "There is no eating in the white room." Then she looks at me. "Come and see the salon we set up."

I walk with her into the next room and see a long white table with hanging mirrors in front of it with four white chairs. "Go change." She motions me toward the bathroom. "Okay, we need everyone in their robes, please." I nod at her and walk to the bathroom, not saying anything to anyone. I avoid looking in the mirror, and when I grab the white satin robe, I want to tear it in half. Instead, I put it on and slide my feet into the white satin slippers and walk out.

I see Presley talking to the photographer. "There will be no pictures until she has foundation on." She looks at me, and I look over to see Sheila in her own peach robe coming out.

"Are you nervous?" she asks, putting her hand to her stomach. "I can't even imagine how nervous I will be when it happens."

"I'm a touch nervous," I admit, putting my hands to my stomach. "But I'm marrying the man who I love, so I know at the end of the day it'll be worth it." She smiles at me so big with tears in her eyes.

"I never thought of it like that." She leans in and puts her arm around me. "Thank you for making me part of your special day and for accepting me with open arms."

"Well, if Ace loves you"—I swallow down the lump—"then I know you're a great person."

"Okay, can we get started?" Clarabella claps her hands together. "We are three minutes off schedule." She looks at me. "Go sit in the chair."

I walk to the chair, take off my glasses, and look up at my makeup artist. "It was a rough night," I say, finally looking at myself in the mirror. My eyes are so puffy I'm surprised I can open them, and my nose can give Rudolph a run for his money. "Damn," I say, laughing now. "No more tears, I promise."

"Oh, please, this isn't even the worst I've seen,” she lies to me and goes to grab an eye mask with cooling gel inside. "This should help but no more tears."

"No more tears," I tell her, smiling. "I'm getting married." The stinging of tears comes, but I fight them back.

I'm doing my hair when Presley comes over with her own hair in curlers. "This is for you." She hands me a mimosa. "How are you doing?"

Like my world is spinning around me, I almost say. "Like I'm getting married." I smile at her, and she just nods at me.

I drink the mimosa in one gulp, and Mallory comes and hands me another one and winks at me. All I can do is smile; the smile is plastered on my face so much that I think my face will crack. The mask comes off, and the swelling is down. By the time she's done with my makeup, it doesn't even show.

"How are you holding up?" Clarabella looks over at me while she gets her hair pinned up.

"As good as I can be," I say, grabbing my bottle of water and taking a sip.

"Well, if it's any consolation." Clarabella looks at me, and she blinks away her own tears. "You look stunning."

I blink away my own tears and fan my face. "Don't make the bride cry!” the makeup artist yells at her. Turning my head and laughing, I see Sheila, and we share a smile.

"Okay, everyone," Presley says. "It's dress time."

I look at myself in the mirror, and it is exactly how I always envisioned I would look on my wedding day. My hair is pushed back on one side with a diamond headpiece while the other side is sleek and curled. My blue eyes shine with light smoky eyes, and all I can do is put a hand to my stomach as the butterflies start to come full force.

"You look beautiful," my mother says from beside me, and I look at her and see her dab the corner of her eyes.

"Mom," Clarabella chastises. "If I see one tear come out of her."

"Would you hush your mouth," she hisses at her. "And don't tell me what to do." She turns to look at me. "I don't necessarily care for this new Clarabella. I can only deal with one person that way, and it's you."

For the first time since last night, I throw my head back and laugh. "Well, after today, she'll be back to the carefree Clarabella that we all know and love."

"I hate to break up this moment," Mallory says. "But you guys are five minutes behind schedule."

I nod at her, and everything is a whirlwind around me. I'm placed everywhere while pictures are being snapped. I smile for all the pictures, and I feel like I'm having an out-of-body experience. Everything is a blur, and I mean, everything except for one thing.

I slip into my dress, and when I look at myself in the mirror, I wait for the butterflies to come, but nothing happens. I do everything and follow every single step that I need to do. I walk into the venue and spot Travis in his suit, waiting for me.

My mother walks in with Sheila behind her. "Are you sure about this?" Travis asks, and I look up at him.

"It's not too late to change your mind," Clarabella says, blinking away her own tears.

"Whatever you want to do, we are going to do it," Presley confirms, and no matter what it is, her own eyes are glistening in tears. "I just want you to be sure."

"I don't know if it's right or wrong," I admit, the lump in my throat getting bigger. "But I'm sure about this." I nod my head, blinking away my own tears. "Are you guys ready?"

The three of them share a look and then look at me, smirking. "Always."

Shelby

My sisters line up behind Sheila and look over at me, not knowing if I'm still going to go through with this. I give them a silent nod, and they turn to look forward. Sheila walks in first, and the white bouquet in my hands starts to shake. The top of the dress suddenly feels like it's getting tighter and tighter on my ribs. I look down at the Cinderella dress that I put on less than an hour ago. It is a tradition that every girl dreams of, but it was hard to fake a smile knowing what I did. My mother helped me get dressed just like I've always dreamed. She fastened the fifty little buttons that go up my back. A daunting task but one she was adamant about doing.

One that I wanted to say no to or else everyone would get suspicious, so instead, I smiled for the camera. My nerves were in my stomach the whole time and then formed a lump in my throat. At times, I couldn't even speak or say anything with the fear that my plan would be ruined, and after everything that happened, I was not about to let that happen.

"Okay," Presley says, coming over to me and pulling the veil over my head. "It's now or never," she says, and I glare at her. "Well, I can see she's ready to rumble." We share a look, and it calms me down for a bit, knowing that I have them in my corner.

I watch Presley walk down the aisle, and I breathe in and out. My hands are starting to shake, and I can see Travis look at me. "It's not too late."

"I have to do this, Travis," I whisper, putting my hand to my stomach, hoping to calm it down. "I just need you to promise me that you won't fly overboard."

"Me?" he hisses and then laughs. "You need to worry about Harlow."

"You told Harlow?" I gasp, my stomach flipping up and down, and my neck is suddenly getting hotter than normal.

"How the hell else was I supposed to get her grandfather's special sweet tea?" His eyebrows pinch together. "The day before your wedding? It had to be dire. You are just lucky that my in-laws are here and talked her down. If it was her cousins, he would have had a pike shoved up his ass and been a scarecrow on their farm." He shakes his head.

"Okay, you two," Mallory says, coming to us. "You can take your place now." She motions to us.

I nod at her and walk the three steps to stand in front of the two brown doors. I hear the music switch off and turn to Travis. "Don't forget to make sure Mom stays in her seat," I tell him through my veil, blinking the tears away because I refuse to look anything but stunning. I can cry by myself after this is done, but I will not shed one more motherfucking tear before then.

The sound of people getting up fills the silence, and then the piano starts, and I know we are about ten seconds from the doors opening. "Here we go," I say, and my stomach is in my throat.

The doors swing open, and I gasp when I see the decorations that my sisters planned. Big potted vases of flowers run down the aisle that is set up with gold chairs. "You want to stop?” Travis asks right before I take a step forward.

I don't look around at any other decorations, afraid that I'm going to fall over. I don't look at any of our guests who came all this way to see us get married. Instead, my eyes focus on Joseph who stands in his black tux with his hands folded in front of him. His blond hair is perfectly styled and pushed back as he smiles at me. I take a second to look beside him at Ace, who has tears in his eyes as he smiles at me and then leans over to say something to Joseph. I look down at my feet, blinking away the stinging of tears that want to come and take over. "You can do this," my head screams at me at the same time that my heart tells me, "Run."

My knees shake when we finally stop walking and face the altar. I turn to Travis exactly like we practiced, and he lifts the veil over my head. He has tears in his eyes, and I can't even imagine what he's feeling. I would never want to be in his shoes. Fuck, I don't even want to be in my shoes, let alone be a bystander waiting for it all to happen. He leans forward and kisses my cheek before turning and holding out his hand to shake Joseph's hand. "Thank you," Joseph says to him and then looks at me. "Hi." He smirks at me, and if I wasn't sure before if I shouldn't marry him, this should be a red flag. Who says hi when they first see their bride? I'll tell you who. No one.

"Hi," I say, smiling at him, and the anger fills the blood in my body. I turn to hand Clarabella my bouquet while Presley comes over and makes sure that everything is properly placed with my train.

"Dearly beloved," the priest starts, and all I can hear in my ears is the sound of my heart beating a million miles a minute. My stomach twists and turns, and I have no idea what the fuck is going on. I sit when I need to sit and stand when I need to stand, and the whole time, he holds my hand. I look down at his hand in mine, and everything in me wants to yank it away. But it's not time yet. "Joseph and Shelby, have you both come here freely?"

"We have," Joseph and I say at the same time. And I can see him look over at me from the side, but my head stares straight ahead.

"Joseph and Shelby have decided to say their own vows," the priest says, and I turn to face Joseph. I'm expecting him to take a paper out, but he doesn't. "Joseph."

"Oh, my turn," he says. People laugh at him, and I look down at my hands that are shaking in his. I'm waiting for him to notice, but as usual, he doesn't. "You know I'm not good at stating my feelings, so when I sat down to write my vows, I googled how do I write vows." He laughs, and my skin crawls for the first time since I've met him. Along with fucking anger that he couldn't put into words how he felt for me. "There was a whole list of things telling me how to put it together, but the only one that I understood was the football one, so here we go." I look into his eyes, hoping to see something, anything to tell me not to go through with it. But all I see are the lies. "They said to say to kick it off with your name first, so, Shelby . . ." People chuckle with him. "Then they said halftime was to state why I intended to marry you. And that is because there is no one else I'd want to walk next to. There is no one else I want by my side but you." He looks down at his feet and then back up at me. "And the fourth quarter my intentions to you. I pledge myself to you today and always."

He looks back at the priest, who just smiles at him and then turns to me. "Shelby," he says my name and I turn to grab the piece of folded paper that Clarabella has been holding.

I unfold the white paper with shaking hands, and as I open it and see the letters on the paper, I know that I really don't need this paper because I've memorized the whole thing. "Unlike Joseph, I didn't have to look my vows up online," I say, and people laugh. "I had them written two weeks ago, but I did tweak them a little last night." I look at him, and he just smiles slyly. I look down at the words on the white paper. "My dearest love," I say, and my voice cracks. I look up at him, and I hear a couple of people ooh and aah, and I want to tell them to shut up. But instead, all I can do is get my breathing under control because if I'm not wrong, I feel a full-on panic attack coming, and this needs to get out before that. "I don't know where to start, so I will start at the beginning. From the first day I met you, my heart skipped a beat." I look into his eyes the whole time, waiting for him to realize what I'm saying. "From the first touch of shaking your hand, it felt like an electric shock went through my body, and I was alive for the first time ever." I can see his eyes turning a touch darker. "No matter what I did, nothing could have stopped me from feeling the way that I feel when I'm with you. We both fought it for as long as we could, but the minute I kissed you, I knew you were meant for me and only me. I never wanted to fall in love with you." I laugh at the irony of it all. "But I did. I love you with everything that I have. I love you with my whole soul. I'm getting married tomorrow, and everything in me wishes it was you. Everything is telling me that it should be you. Sheila," I say. A gasp rings out, and I see at that moment he fully understands how fucked he is. His mouth opens and closes, but nothing comes out. I hear people chattering away, and I can feel my sisters come in closer to me as I get to the last line. "Run away with me. I love you, Sheila, and I'm yours forever." The piece of white paper in my hand falls to the floor, dead just like my love for him.

Ace

I listen to Joseph say his vows, and I'm almost embarrassed for him. Had I known that he didn't write them, I would have tried to get him to write them last night instead of him finishing off a whole bottle of whiskey. Or even this morning when he woke up and looked like he was confused as to where he was. I thought it was wedding jitters, but I just ignored it. After all, the only one who could tell me if it was, was Shelby and there was no way in fuck I was going to put that doubt in her head. I look over at Travis, who just sits in the middle of his mother and his wife, the three of them just glaring at him. I close my eyes as more words come out of his mouth, and all I want him to do is just shut the fuck up.

We got dressed and got here right on time, but he started with the shots the second we walked in. At one point, I had to ask to cut him off. The last thing I wanted was for him to tumble down the aisle. Walking down the aisle, I thought he was going to fall, and I stood beside him to make sure if he did, I would be able to pick him up.

I look over at Shelby as she looks at Clarabella for her paper. I watch her hands shake as she unfolds it, and I have to smile. She's usually so strong and kick-ass, so seeing this makes me want to hug her and tell her it will be okay. "Unlike Joseph, I didn't have to look my vows up online," she says. All I can do is look down and try to hide my laughter. "I had them written two weeks ago, but I did tweak them a little last night. My dearest love." I stare at her since she's never in her life called him this. "I don't know where to start, so I will start at the beginning. From the first day I met you, my heart skipped a beat." What the fuck is she talking about? I was there when they first met, and she called him a douche. "From the first touch of shaking your hand, it felt like an electric shock went through my body, and I was alive for the first time ever." I almost burst out laughing, thinking it's a joke, but then I look at her and see that she is one hundred percent not joking. I stand straighter, trying to tell myself it's not funny. "No matter what I did, nothing could have stopped me from feeling the way that I feel when I'm with you. We both fought it for as long as we could, but the minute I kissed you, I knew you were meant for me and only me. I never wanted to fall in love with you." She laughs, and I don't know why, but something in my chest gets tight. "But I did. I love you with everything that I have. I love you with my whole soul." It's the next sentence that has me on alert. It's as if I hear the words, but I don’t understand them. "I'm getting married tomorrow, and everything in me wishes it was you." I look at Shelby and then side-eye Joseph, my hands going into fists knowing he cheated on her. "Everything is telling me that it should be you, Sheila." I hear the words and then hear the gasp, and I have to shake my head, not sure I actually heard what I heard, but it is exactly what I heard. I listen to the words and feel as if the room is spinning around me. "Run away with me. I love you, Sheila, and I'm yours forever."

"What the actual fuck?” The words roar out of me, and I hear someone clear their throat and look over at the priest who just stands there glaring at me. "Sorry, Father," I say to him.

"Oh.” Shelby laughs. "I think fuck is about right." She turns to face her guests. "In case anyone isn't following"—she looks back at Joseph, who just stands there not saying anything—"the wedding is officially off." She looks at her sister, who just nods at her as she picks up her dress a touch and walks down the aisle toward the brown doors. Her sisters follow her, and I see Travis putting his arm around his mother, who just glares at Joseph.

I hear my heart beating in echo, and I wonder if I'm going to fall on my ass when the room starts spinning. My head is trying to piece together what just happened. I look at Sheila, who stands there by herself crying. She looks at Joseph, who looks at her and then quickly turns and yells, "Shelby!" He walks down toward her.

"Schmuck," Shelby's mom says as Joseph takes a couple of steps forward, and Harlow just glares at him. Her father holds her around the waist to make sure she doesn't spring out and do something she shouldn't. My eyes go to the rest of the guests, who are all waiting to see what more is to come. A couple have their phones out and are filming what started as a beautiful day but has slowly crumbled into a clusterfuck. Joseph stops and looks down and then up to Shelby's family before turning and rushing out of the room.

I shake my head and walk down the steps. My feet move as I try to think clearly and make sense of what just happened. My best friend was fucking my girlfriend I was going to ask to marry me. I don't think anything in that sentence makes sense to anyone, least of all me. My eyes roam the room as I take in the guests whispering to each other, a couple of them looking at me with pity in their eyes. The shame turns to anger, and my blood starts to boil.

"Weston, wait." I hear Sheila call my name, and the guests are moving their head from me to Sheila and then back to me like it's an intense tennis match. I think about stopping for one second, and then as soon as I think about it, I hear Shelby's words play in my head again and again.

I shake my head and push open the two brown doors that lead to the hallway that separates the ceremony space from the event space. I'm not expecting to find Shelby right there by the door with her sisters beside her, ready to step in front of her. "Shelby." I say her name, and she looks at me with tears in her eyes, but then I see her blink them away, and I know that whatever little piece of understanding that she had in her body is gone, and in its place is anger.

Joseph stands in front of them. "Give me a chance to explain," Joseph says, and I wonder how stupid he really is. I knew he was dumb to some things, but this, it's almost comical how he thinks he can talk himself out of this.

"Oh, please explain." Shelby laughs at him bitterly. "I'd love for you to explain." She rolls her eyes now. "Because the email wasn't explanation enough. I might need for you to draw me a fucking diagram."

I can’t help but stop the laugh that comes out of me, and all eyes turn to me. "Oh, yes," I say. Pulling the bow tie away from my neck, I’m feeling suddenly suffocated, so I undo the button on the top. "Please explain how you have been fucking Sheila and wanted her to run away with you on your fucking wedding day." My voice goes higher at the end.

All eyes are on Joseph as he looks at me and then back at Shelby. "Please, it was a mi—"

"Don't you fucking dare," Shelby says between clenched teeth and holding up her hand. "Say it was a mistake." Shelby glares at him and roars out, "Don't you fucking dare give me that fucking excuse."

"It's," he starts to say. "It's not what it seems." My feet move two steps toward him as the anger rips through me.

"I'm pretty sure the email that you sent out the day before our fucking wedding was everything that it seemed to be." Her hands form into fists at her sides. "I'm done," she says, turning to walk away and stopping when the doors open. Sheila steps out, and the whole room feels like it's going to explode. I look toward Shelby, making sure she is okay. She puts her hand down, holding her sister's hand to make sure she holds her sister back.

She stands there looking at all of us with tears running all the way down her face. "Weston," she says. "Please." Her lower lip trembles. "I didn't mean—"

I clap my hands together, laughing at the craziness that this day has turned out to be. The anger runs through me as I look at this woman, the woman I was going to get down on one knee and ask to spend the rest of her life with me. The woman who I thought was mine but instead was lying to my face. "What didn't you mean to do to me? Lie?" I look at her, not really waiting for an answer as she puts her hand in front of her, her shoulders shaking as she closes her eyes and wipes the tears off her face with the back of her hand.

"Weston, please let me explain," she begs, and all I can do is shake my head.

"The only thing I want to hear from you is where you want me to send your shit that I have at my house," I say between clenched teeth.

"Please give me a chance." She brings her hand to her mouth to silence the sobs.

"Did you or did you not sleep with my best friend?" I look at her and wait for her to answer. I wait for someone to jump out of hiding and tell me that this is just a prank. I wait for someone to tell me that this isn't happening. I wait for someone to wake me up so I can be done with this nightmare. But she says nothing. She doesn't have to. The look on her face says it all.

Standing in front of her is making me utterly sick. I'm sick to my stomach that she lied to me. I'm sick to my stomach that I didn't fucking know what was apparently happening right in front of my face. Sick to my stomach that my best friend, who I thought would have taken a bullet for me, literally just shot me in the heart. I walk away, seeing Joseph looking at me, the guy who was supposed to be like a brother to me. "Ace," he says, and everything happens in slow motion, or maybe it was just like that in my head. My shoulder pulls back, and the next thing I know, my hand is balling into a fist, and I punch Joseph straight in the mouth. My hand explodes with pain as his head flies back, and he falls to the floor. The girls hiss out, and I look at my best friend on the floor on his side. His hand comes up to his mouth and then he pulls it back to see that there is blood on the side of his mouth. He leers at me, and all I can do is walk past him and straight to the bar, even though I know that there isn't enough booze in the world to make me forget that my life just fell apart.

Shelby

I watch Sheila cry in front of Ace, my stomach hurting for him. Begging for him to give her a chance to explain, but he doesn't want to hear anything from her. She hangs her head as her shoulders shake as she cries. Ace walks away from her and tries to walk past Joseph, who is stupid enough not to see that he's hanging on by a fucking string. Only people who know him well can see the signs. He's usually calm and cool, but the minute he untied his bow tie from his tux, I knew it was just a matter of time before he would snap.

"Ace," Joseph says. All I know is that I inhale a deep breath, and I want to step forward and make sure that Ace is okay. I'm about to step forward when I see it happen before my eyes. My eyes go big as Ace's shoulder pulls back, and the next thing I know, Ace's hand is balling into a fist, and his fist connects with Joseph's mouth. I see his head snap back, and then his footing slips, and he falls to the side. My sisters and I gasp as Joseph's hand comes up, and he sees he is bleeding. He leers at Ace, and it angers me all the way through my veins. Ace doesn't even give him a second thought before he walks away into the event space.

I shake my head and then look at Joseph as he gets up and takes a step toward me, but I hold up my hand for him not to come any closer. "I'm going to go and make sure that everything is okay in there," Clarabella says, and I just nod. "Presley, you stay with her." She looks at Joseph. "And you fuck off, you spineless piece of shit." It's the first time that someone has cursed him out loud since all of this happened. I see her turn her head toward Sheila, who waits for whatever is going to be thrown at her. "You." Clarabella laughs. "You're second place, you know that, right?" She looks at Sheila. "At the end of the day, he chased after Shelby and left you in there." She points at the ceremony doors. "He may have declared his love for you in a fucking email, but at the end of the day, he went after the woman he wanted." Clarabella takes one more look at Joseph before turning and walking back into the ceremony space.

Sheila just shakes her head. "I am so, so sorry," Sheila says, and she wipes her tears away. “I never meant to hurt anyone."

"Meant to hurt anyone." I laugh out at her. "Meant to hurt me? Of course, you didn't." The sarcasm just rolls off me. "It's funny because I went over and over it in my head last night. All night," I tell her. "Every single time I was nice to you. Every single time I included you in plans because all I wanted to do was be your friend. Every single time I confided in you about things, you just took that and used it."

"That isn't how it happened," she says, stepping forward and then stopping.

"The only thing I think you are sorry for"—I swallow and look over at her—"is that you got caught." I look at them. "That both of you got caught."

"Trust me, the last thing I ever wanted was for anyone to find out," Sheila replies and looks at Joseph, who just looks at her. I don't know why she was expecting him to rush to her side. He's always been a selfish person, but I overlooked it since he was an only child. He didn't know that you needed to do certain things. Whether it was for little things like forgetting when I had a stressful day and just wanted to relax but instead focused all on himself. Or when he forgot the biggest day of my life three months ago, which could have broken us. Instead of sticking around to hold my hand, he went out of town. Now that I think back, the signs were all there. I was just blind to it. She takes one more look at me before turning and walking out with her head hanging down.

"I hope when things calm down," Joseph says, his hand coming up as his thumb rubs the side of his mouth where a drop of blood trickles out again. He looks down at his hand. "I hope that you give me the opportunity to talk to you and explain myself."

I stare at this man who I was going to marry. The man who I thought I loved with everything I had. The man who in the end was nothing that I thought he was. "I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you," I tell him, and he nods at me and storms out the front door.

"Typical," Presley observes. "Fucks shit up and then just fucking leaves." She shakes her head. "If you were keeping score"—she puts her hands on her hips—"I never really liked him."

I can't help but throw my head back and laugh. "Obviously." The brown doors open, and I hold my breath, wondering if some of the guests are going to come out. When I stormed out of the ceremony space, I avoided everyone's eyes. And I mean, everyone's. I just couldn't bear to see the looks of shock on some people's face along with the pity looks. I'm the bride who couldn't keep her fiancé from having sex with someone else.

Travis comes out, followed by Harlow, who heads straight for me and looks around. "Did you guys hide the bodies?"

Presley laughs at her. "I wish." She shakes her head. "He took off like a coward." She looks at Travis. "How's it going in there?"

"I think Clarabella needs some help in there," Travis reports, putting his hands in his pockets.

"How is Mom doing?" I ask, feeling guilty that I didn't include her in this plan.

"Well, she called Joseph's parents dickheads for raising a, and I quote"—he takes his hands out of his pockets and tries not to laugh—"'shriveled little dick.'"

My eyes go wide at that because my mother is the politest person I know. Even when people don't deserve it, she’s always smiling. "Oh, it was good," Harlow says. "Especially after she called him a shriveled little dick, she looked down at his package and raised her eyebrows." Harlow can't help but laugh. "He literally cupped himself to make sure that she didn't see or better yet kick him in the family jewels."

"Oh my God," Presley says, putting her hands to her mouth.

"Oh, it got just a touch worse," Harlow says, and I just wait for the rest. "She looked over at my father and asked him if he could take the trash out."

"Jesus." I shake my head and think about going in there and facing the music. My eyes go to the brown door. My head is telling me to get it over with, my feet are pretty much full of cement and don't even move an inch from the spot I'm on.

"I'm going to go and make sure that Mom is okay," Presley says, taking two steps toward the door, then turning. "Bet you’re sorry he didn't die yesterday." She makes her way to the door, and with one hand on it, she turns. "I'm not keeping score or anything like that, but this is two missed weddings for our family."

"Don't worry about that," Harlow soothes. "It's still fifty percent."

"Oh, goody," she says, smiling. "Fifty-fifty chance my husband will marry me." She shakes her hands in front of her. "Can't wait to meet that lucky man." She pulls open the door and steps in.

"This is a clusterfuck," I affirm, looking around and then pulling the veil out from the back of my hair.

"It's not that bad," Travis says, and even Harlow looks at him like he has two heads. "By next week, they will be talking about something else."

"If you want," Harlow plots, "we can start a rumor about him. Once my cousin started dating this guy, and he cheated on her, she started this rumor that he meowed during sex." My eyes bulge out of my head, and Harlow laughs. "Joke was on him, though, because he taped himself having sex, and the girl then sued him." She claps her hands together. "Good times."

Travis smiles at Harlow. "How did you do it?" I ask him as I hear people moving in the ceremony space.

Travis looks at me. "What do you mean?"

"How did you face the music?" I point at the ceremony space.

"Booze," he says right away and then looks over at Harlow and smiles.

"And sex," I add to that. "That didn't hurt." When Harlow came to his wedding and it was called off, they spent the whole night drinking and dancing. When we went to clean up his cabin the day after the wedding, we caught them naked in bed.

"Sex definitely didn't hurt," Harlow confirms, putting her arms around his waist and looking up at him. My chest hurts right in the middle as if an elephant is sitting down on me.

"Well, might as well get this over with," I say and take the five steps toward the brown door. My stomach climbs up to my throat, and my neck starts to get hot. If I had anything in my stomach, I'm pretty sure I would have thrown it up. I take one more deep breath and pull open the door.

I step inside, expecting to find everything still there, but it's empty. I take two steps in, and the door closes behind me, and I take in the scene again. I put one foot in front of another as I start walking down the aisle. The gold chairs that were full of guests not even an hour ago are left empty. Wedding day programs are left on some of the chairs, and one is in the middle of the aisle, facedown. "Figures," I mumble when I lean down and pick it up. Turning it over, I see the picture of us taken at our engagement party. A party he didn't want. The day he chose to go golfing instead of helping me set up. The day when I started to see the cracks in the foundation but pushed them aside, telling myself that it was probably nerves and jitters that made him like that. The day that I look back on should have been the first of many red flags. The day I spent mingling with our families because he spent most of the night at the bar with his college friends.

The paper slips out of my hand, and I watch it float back and forth until it lands on the floor. I walk the rest of the way down the aisle, seeing that a bouquet of white peonies is thrown on the floor right where I stood. The white printed-out email sits beside it. As I look down at it, everything inside me turns cold. "Fuck this shit," I say out loud to no one. "Travis was right. I need a drink."

I walk to the side of the room, where a back hallway leads you straight to the event space. I'm expecting to find my sister there, getting everyone organized and making sure the space is cleaned up. But that, too, is empty. The only sound is my heels clicking on the floor.

Walking into the event space, I see all the tables set up to host our guests sit eerily empty. I zigzag my way to the bar and stop when I see Ace sitting on one of the stools. A bottle of whiskey sits on the bar top next to a small glass. He pours himself two fingers’ worth and takes it in two gulps. Putting the glass down, he pours another bit. "Is this seat taken?"

Ace

I unscrew the bottle of whiskey and pour two fingers full into the small crystal glass. I don't even wait until the bottle is down on the bar to take the gulp. The amber liquid burns from the start of my throat all the way down to my stomach. I quickly fill it up again and take another shot before gently placing the bottle on the top of the bar next to me. I look into the empty glass at the little drops of amber liquid. My head can still hear the words over and over as if it's on repeat. "I love you, Sheila." I shake my head. "For fuck's sake." I pick the bottle up again and pour a bit more than I did the last time. It takes two gulps to get it down. I hiss out as my stomach feels like a firepit. I put the glass down and pour another bit. "Is this seat taken?"

I hear her voice and turn to look at her. She's standing there in her wedding dress. The minute the doors opened and I saw her, I couldn't even help myself. I leaned over and whispered to Joseph that he was a fucking lucky man. Her blue eyes look like the deep end of the ocean does right before a storm rushes in, which should have been my first clue that something was up. Her eyes only get that dark when she is super pissed, but I just figured that it was her nerves. She pulls out the stool and sits next to me. "Not sure if they have enough booze to share with you." I joke with her and pour myself another glass. My hand picks up the glass, and I wince right before I swallow down the whiskey.

I look down at my hand, seeing the knuckle bloody and scraped. I close it in a fist again and open it feeling the tightness in the skin. "That always plays out differently in the movies." I shake my head and laugh. I didn't even know I was going to punch him in the face, but the minute he said my name, I just couldn't help it. Did it feel good? You bet your ass it did. Was it immature? You bet your ass it was. Would I do it again? You bet your ass I would. "In the movies, the guy just walks away with a swagger."

She throws her head back and laughs. "You definitely walked away with a swagger." She leans to me.

"Yeah, but it was also done with a wince." I pour another shot. "Thankfully, you couldn't see it."

She pushes away from the bar, and I help her get down. The dress looks like it's going to swallow her up. She walks around the bar as she walks to the end of the other side. I see her moving, but I have no idea what the fuck she is doing. My head is just a touch fuzzy, so I'm slow to ask her. "Whatcha doing back there?" My eyes follow her every move.

She walks back out from behind the bar, and I see her holding a white cloth in her hand. She gets back on the stool, and the dress goes bigger than when she's standing. "Is your dress growing?" I ask, and she laughs.

"No." She shakes her head. "When I sit, the crinoline moves up." She grabs my hand in hers and puts the white rag on it. "There you go, Rocky." I laugh and look over at her as she leans over the bar and grabs her own crystal glass.

"Fill me up," she says, and all I can do is nod at her and pour her a small shot. She just stares at me. "I will stab your toe with my heels." She glares at me, and I try not to laugh as I pour more in her glass and then pour the same amount in mine.

"What are we toasting to?" I ask, knowing she always loves to toast when she pours her first drink. It all started after we took our midterm and went to grab a beer. I made the mistake of taking a sip, and she glared at me. I never made that mistake again.

"I'm not sure there is actually something to toast." I laugh, looking down at my shot. My stomach sinks as my head remembers what just happened.

"We can toast to love." She throws her head back and laughs at her own joke. "The irony."

"You mean, to being morons." I hold the glass up, and she nods.

"I will definitely drink to that." Her hand goes around her glass as she picks it up and clicks it with mine. The sound of the two glasses clanking together fills the silent room as she brings the glass to her mouth and swallows it down.

"Gross," she says, putting her glass down and grabbing the bottle to pour another shot. She pours me one also and then looks at me to see if I'm going to take it with her. I grab my glass, and we take another shot. "Somehow, the burning just got worse." She puts her hand to her stomach. "Which is weird."

"After the fifth one." I pour her more. "You think it's water."

She spins the glass in front of her, and I can see that she's thinking. She looks over at me, and I can see her fighting away the tears. "Did you know?"

I shake my head and look back at the glass in front of me. "Not even for a second." I swallow down the shot. "Did you?"

She laughs as she takes herself another shot. "Not until I got his email." She laughs and looks at me. "Nothing says you are marrying the wrong person like a declaration of love to someone else." She tries to make a joke, but her voice cracks, and I can tell that she is hurt.

"Got to say." I put my arm around her, pulling her to me. "You handled it with all the class in the world." I kiss her temple.

"I'm sure my mother is going to kill me." She looks up at me and shrugs. I know that this is the least of her worries. I also know that her mother will never be mad at her for long anyway.

"Who knew?" I spin the empty glass in front of me, wanting to know every detail to her finding out.

"I wasn't going to tell anyone." Her voice goes soft as she puts her head on my shoulder. "I was blissfully aware of nothing and getting ready when I got the email, and honestly, for one second, I thought he was sending it to me." She laughs, and I see her lift her hand to rub the tear away from the side of her eye. "The first clue was the way he started it. He's never called me love." She pushes away from me, grabbing the whiskey bottle, and I know she has to let it out. She takes it down in two gulps, and she coughs a bit, putting her hand to her mouth. "The most romantic he called me was honey." She rolls her eyes. "I kept reading with a smile on my face, even though there were things in the letter that didn't make sense." She looks over at me.

"I picked up on that, but then thought it was just me," I admit softly.

"When I got to the end of the email . . ." Her eyes go to her hands, looking at the engagement ring that is still on her finger. A ring that he brought me with him to pick out. A ring that personally I would never have chosen for her, but it wasn't my choice. It was his. "The phone fell from my hands." She rubs her cheek, and I see that it's wet from a tear. "I tried to cover it up, tried to pretend it didn't happen." She shakes her head as if she is trying to block the memory out of her brain. "Picked the phone up and read it again just to make sure that I did, in fact, read what I read, and I wasn't having a stroke."

"Jesus." I pour myself another shot and then fill her glass with another shot. Hopefully, by the end of this bottle, neither of us will remember being fucked over by the people who said they loved us.

She takes the shot and doesn't even wince this time. "Clarabella came in then, and I didn't have enough time to recover, and she found me on my knees." She looks over at me, and I can see two big tears in her eyes, and when she blinks, one spills over. My hand comes out to wipe it away as soon as it falls onto her cheek. "I don't even know how I got on my knees. I tried to talk my way out of it. Fuck, the last thing I wanted to do was to say it out loud." She smiles sadly. "I thought that if I told her and put it out there in the universe that it would be true and not just my imagination."

"Shelby," I say in almost a whisper, but I know she has to get it out of her. My hand falls from her face when she pours herself another shot to continue the story.

"Yeah, well, Clarabella took the phone from me, and all she could do was look at me like this isn't true." She takes the shot. "Presley came into the room with a drink in her hand, and in five minutes, the three of us were sitting on my bed wondering what the fuck I was going to do."

"Who came up with the plan to go through all of this?" I ask, not sure I would have been able to go through with it.

"Me." She shrugs. "Not well thought out, that is for sure," she admits. "If it was up to Clarabella, we would have shown up at your house with a baseball bat and some gasoline to burn it to the ground."

I laugh. "Thanks for not doing that one."

"Presley wanted to reply to the email with a thanks for letting me know." She shakes her head and laughs. "I was the one who came up with the plan to confront him at the altar."

"I'm not going to lie." I look over at her. "I don't think I would have been courageous enough to do what you did. I would probably have gone with Clarabella's plan."

"To be honest." She pours herself another shot. "It might have been the booze talking and then the anger. I didn't think I would be able to either. The whole time I was sitting there with my hand in his, I kept thinking maybe this isn't a good idea. But then he started saying his vows, and I was like, wow, he had to google what he wanted to say to me, his future wife, but when it came to Sheila, he didn't even have to think twice about it." She takes the shot and looks at me. "That's my fifth shot, and it still tastes like ass." It was way more than five but I’m not going to tell her.

I look at her and smile. "Maybe it's the sixth shot, then." She throws her head back and laughs, and all I can do is stare at her. When she turns to look at me, I can't help but reach for her. "I'm sorry," I say softly right before I kiss the side of her head. "For introducing you to him."

Shelby

Ace looks at me, and his blue eyes shine, and I'm going to go out on a limb and say that it's the booze. "Maybe it's the sixth shot, then." He smirks at me, and all I can do is throw my head back and laugh. Full-on belly laugh, which could also be from the booze. I turn my head to look back at him, and he reaches out for me. His touch tingles on my skin. "I'm sorry," he says softly right before he kisses the side of my head. "For introducing you to him."

"Well," I say, looking at the almost empty bottle of whiskey. "You need to step up your game and make it up to me." It's his turn to throw his head back and laugh.

"Duly noted," he replies, his hand falling off my shoulder and back onto the bar.

"I guess I should get out of this dress," I say, looking down at the tulle skirt that suddenly seems so big for me. I put my hand to my stomach as the whiskey starts to do the wave in my stomach. "I really, really love this dress," I say, trying to shed a tear.

"Well, if it helps," Ace comforts from beside me, and I look over at him. "You are the most beautiful bride I've ever seen."

I can't help but laugh now. "You’re just saying that because, well, my wedding day turned out to be a clusterfuck."

He looks like he's about to say something to me when I hear voices and look over at the door. Travis leads the way with his hand in Harlow's. My sisters follow them with Travis's best friend, Bennett. "Incoming," Ace warns from beside me, pouring himself another shot. He coughs after he swallows, and it's my turn to lean into him.

"Maybe after the tenth, it'll taste like water." He turns to glare at me as Travis gets closer to the bar.

"Are we ready to party?" Travis says, and we both look over at him as he walks with his hands up in the air. Harlow throws her hands up, and all I can do is groan.

"What?" I ask, shocked and confused by this question. I watch as he pulls out the stool next to me and sits down.

"When my wedding was canceled, we partied," Travis says with a huge smile on his face as he bends and kisses Harlow's lips. "We danced and drank all night long."

"You also slept with your ex-girlfriend," Clarabella reminds him, pulling the stool out beside Ace and sitting down. She leans back and looks over at Harlow. "No offense."

"Can't take offense to the truth," Harlow says, smiling and looking up at Travis. "We definitely drank more than we should have." He bends and kisses her right before she moves away from him, making her way behind the bar and looking over at Bennett. "Is it time for a showdown?" she asks him, and he claps his hands.

"The last time we did this was at his first wedding." Bennett smirks and then looks at me. "You okay?" For as long as I can remember, he's been like a second brother to me. They've been best friends forever, and there is nothing he wouldn't do for me.

"Not even a little bit." The words come out of my mouth before I can stop them. Ace sits up straight next to me, and he puts his arm around my stool to give me his strength.

He looks over at Ace. "What about you?" All Ace does is shrug his shoulders, and I put my hand on his leg now. "I think we need a drink," Bennett says and looks over at Harlow. "What do you think?"

"I think," Presley says, sitting down, "I need a shot of whatever is the strongest shit you have back there." She closes her eyes and leans back. The satin champagne-colored gown flows around her legs when she sits. "Or some of that sweet tea."

"Well," Harlow drawls, ducking down, "I did have a couple of bottles brought here this morning." She picks up the bottles. "Because I knew it would be rough."

"As someone who had no idea what the fuck was going on”—Bennett grabs shot glasses—"I have to say I was having a heart attack and would not recommend that to anyone." He looks at us. "Although I will say I was hoping that your mom would stand up and rip him a new one."

"She was in shock," Harlow reports, laughing as she fills the shot glasses. "She leaned over to me and was like, what did she just say." She laughs at the memory. "I had to act shocked, which took a lot from me because I kept shaking my foot the whole time."

"Well, I thank you all for keeping my secret until the right moment," I say, leaning forward and grabbing a shot with my free hand. My hand is still on Ace's leg, and it feels like it weighs a thousand pounds. "This is so fucked up." I shake my head.

"As fucked up as inviting your ex-girlfriend to your wedding?" Harlow tries to cheer me up.

"I mean, in his defense, I did that." Presley smirks while she grabs her own shot glass.

"You can't take the credit for that," Travis retorts. "Mom snuck her on the list."

"I mailed out the invitations, dickhead," she argues, and he shrugs.

"Don't even care who sent what and how she got there." Travis picks up the shot. "I ended up with her in the end."

"Do you think we're cursed?" Clarabella asks. "Like the first wedding is going to fucking suck, and then you get your proper wedding?"

"You know what you should do," Bennett says. "Plan a fake wedding like that, and the next one will be good."

"You’re such an idiot," Presley scoffs, shaking her head. "If that's the case, we should pretend to get married." She looks at him, and he just smirks.

"I'm game," he teases, and her cheeks turn a bright pink, and I look over at Clarabella, who just rolls her lips. The two of them have had this connection since she turned eighteen, and they fight it every single time.

"Can we just toast?" Travis suggests. "To the second wedding."

I look over at Ace and laugh. "Not sure you can drink to that since you didn't have a first wedding." He hangs his head, and my heart stops when I think I hurt his feelings.

"Oh my God," Clarabella says. "I think it's too soon."

"I'm so sorry," I apologize, turning on my stool to face him, and I can see him hiding a smile. "Dick, how can you do that on my wedding day?" I sniffle at the end, and his eyes come up, and when he sees me smile, he just glares. "Two can play that game."

He's about to say something when a shot glass is tapped on the bar, and we look over at Presley. "I'm going to need more," she says and looks at us. "After the shit I just had to do, you think I can wait for you guys to fuck around? I need to drink."

"Well, I'll give my woman what she wants," Bennett says. Presley groans and flips him the bird, and he laughs but fills up her glass again.

"His woman, my ass," she mumbles, avoiding looking at him while he stares at her.

I clear my throat to take the eyes off her and hold my glass up. "Fuck this," I toast. "To nothing."

"To nothing," everyone says, and I take the shot.

"Not that we are comparing weddings or anything," Harlow says, "but this is so much better than Travis's first wedding."

"I didn't even see," I admit, turning my head and taking in the room. White satin drapes hide the wooden wall behind them, floating down the pillars all over the room, with white roses that look like they are floating down. Round tables fill the room with white lace table covers. A big glass vase filled with white roses fills the middle of the tables with silver plates and cutleries. White and silver bamboo chairs are around the table. White roses are scattered all over the room, and the couple of tables at the head of the room are elevated with a white wall of flowers behind it. I can see little tea lights that would be lit as soon as it got dark outside. "You guys did such a good job," I compliment, looking away and at my sisters.

"Whoever gets married next," Clarabella says, taking another shot. "It's like basic."

"I agree," Presley concurs. "Paper plates and red Solo cups."

"I think Clarabella was right." I grab the whiskey bottle and pour myself a shot. "Our family is cursed." I take the shot, and the burning starts, and I look over at Ace. "That was over”—I think about the number and think it’s five—“five and still gross."

"Might be the next one." He smirks at me, and I see his dimple coming out. I don't know if it's the booze or I'm going crazy, but he looks cute when he smirks. "Okay." I push away from the bar and get down, the dress getting stuck on the stool, and I look over, afraid that I've ruined it. "As much as I love this dress"—I take a deep breath—"it's time to get out of it."

"I'll help," Ace offers, pushing away from the bar, and everyone just looks at him. Travis stares with his mouth hanging open.

He takes in everyone's face. "Sex isn't the answer to this," Clarabella says. "I mean, it would be fitting if you guys went at it. But . . ." She laughs and doesn't realize that everyone is looking at her and not talking. Their eyes go to her and then to me and then back to Ace, who shakes his head.

"Not like that." He shakes his head and laughs. "I just don't want to."

I put my hand on top of his lips. "What he is trying to say is that he wants to sit and drink his misery alone, and it's easier to do when you don't have everyone trying to cheer you up." I look at him, his eyes just staring at me and then my hand. I take a step back from him, and my hand falls from his lips.

"Now that"—Ace points at me—"is why she's my best friend."

"Who are you going to have sex with?" Harlow asks, and he just shakes his head.

"No one is having sex with anyone!" he declares between clenched teeth, and I roll my lips, not to laugh at him.

"I'm having sex!" Harlow lifts her hand in the air. "Not at this moment, but tonight." She looks at Travis and winks at him, making him blush.

"You guys are gross," I mumble, picking up my dress just a touch to get through the chairs.

"Yeah, you guys are gross," Ace repeats, making everyone laugh. "I'm going with her." He points at me. "And I'm taking this." He picks up the almost empty whiskey bottle, then looks at Bennett.

"Do you want a full one?" Bennett asks him, and he just nods his head.

"Somehow"—Ace laughs at himself—"it was going to play out cooler in my head."

I nod at him. "When you stormed off?" I ask him, and he holds up his hand for me to give him a high five.

"Here you go," Bennett says, handing him a full bottle of whiskey, and then he holds a bottle of sweet tea for me to grab.

"Are you crazy?" Harlow says. "They say they aren't going to have sex, but after four shots of this, sex will be the best idea they’ve had today."

"Is that why you slept with Travis?" I joke with her.

"No, that was all my sex appeal," Travis says, slapping the bar and laughing at his own joke.

Ace steps forward and grabs our two glasses, shaking his head at the sweet tea that Bennett waves at him. Turning and looking at me, he says, "Lead the way."

Ace

I step forward to grab our two glasses while Bennett waves the bottle of sweet tea in my face. I glare at him and shake my head, then turn to look at Shelby. "Lead the way."

She turns to walk toward the back of the room. The smell of roses fills the room, and I look around to see the decorations. "Not going to lie," I say when we walk past the white dance floor with the letter S and J in the middle. "This looks nothing like you would do for your wedding."

She stops and looks at me. "Really?" she asks.

"It's so white," I observe. "I mean, it's beautiful, don't get me wrong, but"—I look around—"it's just so white."

I look back at her, and at this point, I think I've offended her. Maybe I don't know her as much as I think I do. "So what would you imagine if this was, in fact, my actual wedding?” She folds her arms over her chest as she stares at me.

"Well, for one, I would add color like red and peach," I reply, knowing those are her favorite colors. "And I'd add some green in here somewhere and take off all this white shit." I point at the ceiling, then look back at her, and her eyes are roaming around the room.

"I'm not saying you’re right," she huffs. "Because my sisters spent lots of hours making it perfect." She turns and starts to walk.

"But I'm not wrong either." She looks over her shoulder, and I can see her smirk.

"If you say anything about this dress," she says, and all I can do is watch her walk away. The back of her dress is sheer but has buttons from the middle of her back until her waist.

"You'd look good in a potato sack," I reply, catching up with her as we walk out of the event space and into a hallway that leads to an outside door.

The sound of her shoes clicking on the marble echoes until we get to the end of the hallway, and she pushes open the side door. "Is this a secret lair?" I look around at the pathway to the back of a house.

"No." She laughs. "It's just a secret entrance." She holds up her dress on the side as she walks down toward the house. "But I guess it could be considered a lair."

The sun looks like it's going down, and the sky looks orange. She pulls open the back door of the house, and I step in and smell the flowers right away. "What is this?" I step farther into the room. White potted roses are everywhere. "Oh my God, what is this?" I spot the white couch in the middle of the room next to two more potted roses.

"It's the bridal suite." She walks over to the platter of fruit and picks up a strawberry.

"It's almost as bad as in there." I point at the door we just walked into while I walk over to the couch and sit down. "Horrible." Putting the bottle of whiskey down and then the glasses, I grab the bottle and turn the cap, listening to the snapping sound and then pouring two glasses. "This should make it better." I hold a glass up for her, and she comes and takes it.

She swallows it down and then coughs. "Why does it have to be so gross, even after all these shots?" She grimaces.

"I think we have to do it like one after another, and it has to be quick." I snap my finger, and she shakes her head.

"I need help." She spins in front of me, showing me her back. "Can you unbutton me?" She moves her hair to the side so I can unbutton her.

I get up, and my hands shake right before I start to unbutton the first little white satin button. My heart speeds up, and all I can do is focus on one button after another. "How many buttons are there?" I ask after I get past ten, my eyes trying not to focus on the fact I'm getting really close to her ass. "Too many." She laughs, and my hands shake the whole way. I'm pretty sure that the whiskey is fucking with my head right now.

"There you go," I announce when I get to the last button and push her dress open. Her hand flies to the front of her dress.

"Ooof," she says right before it falls, leaving her topless. "Thank you," she says as she walks away.

"Do you need me to help you take it off?" The words come out of my mouth, and even I'm surprised that they did. She looks back at me, her eyes going big now. "Oh, I don't mean it like that." I shake my hand in front of her. "I just meant it's big." I motion with my hands by my sides, and I really fucking hope the floor opens up and swallows me. "Not that you’re big. I mean, there is a lot of dress there."

"Are you done?" She laughs as she looks at me, holding the dress to her chest.

"I'm going to just sit here and drink," I say, and she nods, walking into the other room. "What the hell is wrong with you?" I mumble to myself, shrugging off my jacket and tossing it on the floor. It's not like I need it anymore anyway. I sit down and pour half the glass of whiskey, taking a gulp and waiting for her to come back into the room.

"That's better," she says when she comes into the room, and I see her wearing white satin pajama pants with a matching short-sleeve button-down shirt. Bride is embroidered on the left side of her shirt.

"Is there anything in here that doesn't scream bride?" I ask as she plops down next to me on the couch. She leans forward, filling her glass with just as much whiskey as I have.

Curling her feet under her, she takes a sip of the drink. "Definitely not the tattoo I got on the base of my back."

I stare at her, shocked. "You're joking." I don't know if she's telling me the truth or not.

When she rolls her eyes and laughs out loud, I breathe a sigh of relief. "Of course I'm joking." I pick up the glass of whiskey and take a gulp of it when she says, "It's on my vagina." And the whiskey goes everywhere. I cough and choke the whole time, and she doesn't even move to help me. She doesn't do anything but take a drink of her own whiskey.

"I'm choking," I say between breaths, and all she does is slap me on the back.

"Drink more whiskey. You'll feel fine." She takes another shot, and she looks like she's going to gag. "Horrible."

I take a gulp of the whiskey, and it burns going down from all the coughing. "I'm going to go out on a limb and say this is the worst day of my life." I look over at her, waiting for her to agree with me.

She nods. "That was what I was thinking," she points out, "yesterday." Bringing the glass back up to her mouth, she takes a bigger gulp.

"Why didn't you call and tell me?"

"Would you have been able to not punch him in the face?" she asks, and I look up at the ceiling.

"Not even close," I admit. "If you would have called me last night, I don't know what I would have done to him to be honest. He spent the night fucking drinking, and I kept thinking that it was just cold feet."

"More like polar ice," she jokes, and I laugh. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I don't know why I did what I did, but I wanted him to hurt as much as I did when I read his words." She puts her arm on the back of the couch and lays her head on it. "I wanted to make him feel as small as he made me feel." She blinks away the tears as she tries to stay strong.

"Honestly, my head is going around and around in circles." I lift my arm to twirl it in a circle, and it feels like it's five hundred pounds as it just drops back down.

"That's the whiskey." She laughs at her own joke, and her eyes are so crystal blue now.

"It was spinning even more without the whiskey." I chuckle. "Now it's just like a slow-motion spinning."

"If it makes you feel better, I'm sorry you found out like this." Her voice is low and almost a whisper. "I hate that this happened to you." She smiles at me sadly. "I wish it was anyone but you."

"What do we do now?" I ask, taking a pull of the whiskey.

"I don't know about you, but I leave tomorrow," she says, her voice clear as day, and I sit up confused.

"Tomorrow?" I shriek. "What the fuck? That was not the answer I thought I would get. I thought you would be like let's go throw shit on their houses." I hold up my finger. "Or let's go spray-paint both their cars with cheaters on them." I hold up a second finger. "Or toiler paper their houses, or I don't know what else we could do, but why are you leaving?"

She throws her head back and laughs. "Well, for one, two of those will probably get us thrown in jail." She brings her glass up to her lips.

"Well, where the hell are you going?" I ask, surprised at this whole announcement. "How long are you going for?"

"One week." She holds up her finger. "White water with blue sandy beaches." She laughs now. "Pina coladas by the chair in the pool." Her words are all messed up.

"Wait a second." I sit up, finally catching on. "You're going on your honeymoon?" I look over at her. "Alone."

"No." She giggles, and I know that she's drunk. "I'm not going alone, silly." She continues giggling and leans over and bops my nose. "I'm taking you with me."

I put my glass down on the table in front of me and look back at her. "I'm sorry, what the fuck is in this whiskey?" I inquire, and all she can do is giggle.

"I made all the arrangements last night," she tells me as if it's nothing. "One week all-expenses-paid vacation. With open bar." She holds up the glass of whiskey, shaking it left and right, and it spills out on her. She rubs it clean with her hand, and her white pants have brown stains on them.

"I can't go with you on your honeymoon," I say finally, and she just looks at me. "That would be so weird."

"Suit yourself." She gets up now, looking around. "I'm hungry." She sits back down, her eyes closing. I move to the edge of the couch as she lies down. "But if you change your mind, the plane leaves at seven."

Shelby

"What the hell is in this thing?" I mumble to myself as I carry the big-ass suitcase down the stairs. I'm trying to be quiet, but the number of times I've stumbled should be in the world record book. I kick the luggage with my foot as I get down each step. "This is legit a workout," I huff when I get halfway down the steps and have to take a one-second break.

"I told you that you were overpacking last week when you packed it," Clarabella reminds me. "Every single time I said don't pack it, you just threw it in the luggage." I'm just thankful I brought my luggage here, not knowing what the fuck was going to happen.

I ignore her as I try to make it down the rest of the way, my hand sweating as I hold the handle. "This is a good idea?" I look down the steps and see my mother just watching me. She wears the white plush robe that she wore two nights ago that says Mother of the Bride, except she took a black Sharpie when we got home last night and crossed out the bride. "You think this is a good idea?" She tilts her head to the side to talk to Clarabella, then follows me down.

"It's a good idea, Mom," I mumble, ignoring my throbbing head. It feels like a jackhammer is going a million miles mixed in with a horn honking repeatedly.

"I don't know why you think this would be a good idea," she huffs, shaking her head with the coffee cup in her hand.

"I think this is a good idea," I say once I get down to the bottom of the stairs and push my luggage. The sound of the wheels rolling against the floor goes until it hits the wall right beside the front door.

"Is that bacon?" Clarabella says from behind me, sniffing the air. "Mom, did you make bacon?"

"Of course, I made bacon," she snorts like it was obvious.

"It's four o’clock in the morning," I huff, walking to the kitchen, and I can smell the bacon now.

"I cook when I'm stressed," my mother says, coming into the kitchen with us. I stop when I see a buffet of food sitting in the middle of the island. When I woke up on the couch, I sat up but immediately had to lay my head back on the cushion. When I was finally able to move without stumbling all over myself, I found the party going on in the event space. The music was going, and the six of them were dancing as if my wedding day didn't end in a fucking disaster. I walked to the bar, and that is where my memories start to fade in and out. I do remember eating a burger while sitting at the bar, but then my head and eyes suddenly got too heavy to keep up or open, so I took a nap in my plate with the burger clenched in my hand. "I had no idea what to do with myself."

"Cooking is always the right answer," Clarabella blurts when she pushes me to the side to get herself a plate. "Are there biscuits?"

"Of course, I made biscuits," my mother says. "What kind of a savage do you think I am to make gravy without biscuits?" She stares at Clarabella as if she grew another head.

"I don't care what Clarabella and Shelby say about you, Mom," Presley mumbles and walks into the kitchen. "I think you're great." She stops by my mother and kisses her cheek. She is still wearing her silk dress from the wedding. Her hair looks like it's been yanked out on one side while the other side still has the hairpins in it.

My mother gasps and looks at both of us, who just shake our heads at her. "Don't listen to anything she says. She's still drunk." I point at Presley, who is filling up her plate.

"I am still drunk," she confirms to us all. "And I was trying to sleep off my stupor when I kept hearing clunk, clunk, clunk." She glares at me with one eye still closed. "How is anyone supposed to get some sleep around here?" I look at Clarabella, who just glares at her.

My mother just shakes her head, looking up at the ceiling. "She had sex." I point at Presley, and she just stares at me with her eyes big.

"I did not," she denies, shaking her head. "She wasn't supposed to wear white at her wedding." She points her fork at me, and I'm ready to fire back at her when Mom holds up her hands.

"Can we not do this?" She looks at the three of us. "My nerves are fried after yesterday."

"Oh, is it because you've had another child get left at the altar?" Clarabella asks in a soft voice, but she rolls her lips.

"I didn't get left at the altar,” I fire back, walking to get a plate. "I got there and walked down to it, and then I left."

"That doesn't make it better," Clarabella says, grabbing a piece of bacon and biting it.

"Can you not make fun of your sister?" My mother wrings her hands together now. "Look at her."

I look down at myself dressed in tights and a sweater, the bun at the top of my head falling down. "What's wrong with how I look?"

"You're still wearing your makeup from yesterday," my mother informs me between clenched teeth. "And I think you have a French fry in your hair." She points at the top of my head.

My hand comes up, and I feel it. "I fell asleep while I was eating fries." I touch my hair and pull it out. "I drank a lot of whiskey and sweet tea." I close my eyes when my stomach rises and then falls. "I'm never drinking whiskey again." I look at my sisters. "How did I get home?"

"Dragged you here," Clarabella says at the same time Presley says, "Unicorn."

I shake my head, sitting down and drinking the coffee black. When I walk out of the house, my mother gives me a huge hug. "Did you put on deodorant?" she asks, and I gasp. "I'm just checking, gosh."

I shake my head and get into the car, waving goodbye as we drive away. "Mom is right," Clarabella says from the driver's seat.

"I fucking put deodorant on as soon as I woke up," I huff at her, and she laughs.

"No, not that." She shakes her head. "I also wouldn't worry about you smelling like B.O. when you smell like you bathed in whiskey." I put my head back on the passenger seat and close my eyes. "Are you sure you want to go alone?" Clarabella asks, her voice going soft.

I turn my head and open my eyes, looking at her. "Someone has to stay and face the music." I smile at her. "I'll give it a couple of days, and if it gets to be too much, I'll come back early."

"Don't you dare," she warns when she pulls up to the airport. She gets out of the car. "You go and sit your ass down on that beach and have vacation sex." She opens the trunk and takes the luggage out and huffs when it lands on the ground. "Just don't bring home anything that causes you to itch."

"Oh, God." I roll my eyes and grab the handle of the luggage, moving it to the back seat and grabbing my big carry-on purse. "Thanks for the pep talk," I tell her, giving her a hug. "Call me if you need anything."

"See you next week," Clarabella says, walking to the car while I walk inside the airport and check in. I get to the gate and sit, looking out of the window at the plane waiting at the gate. The lights from the runway slowly fade as the sun starts to come up.

I cross my legs and watch the darkness fade into the light. I close my eyes for a second and picture myself walking down the aisle. I open my eyes, seeing the pink sky, wondering how different it would be if everything worked out. "Ladies and gentlemen, we will be boarding flight number seventeen forty-seven nonstop to Turks and Caicos."

I stand, grabbing my bag and getting in line to board the plane. "Good morning," the attendant says, and I smile, walking down the jetway. A flight attendant is there when I walk in.

"I'm three A," I say, walking as I look up at the numbers and see my seat. I sit in my seat and tuck my bag under the seat in front of me.

Opening the shade, I put on my seat belt. "Can I get you something to drink?" the flight attendant asks.

"I'll have a mimosa," I say, and she smiles at me as she walks away. A couple of people trickle by as the time passes.

"Here you go." She hands me the crystal champagne glass, and I take a sip as I look out the window, watching the sun rise. I finish the mimosa in three gulps as I count down the time until we take off. My heart speeds up as the nerves start to come on full force.

"I'll take that," the attendant says of my glass, and I hand it to her. "We are preparing for takeoff."

I smile at her and put my head back as I hear the overhead bin doors being shut. The captain comes out and gives us his whole speech. "Excuse me." I hear a voice and open my eyes. "Is this seat taken?" Ace says, smirking at me, and he looks just as good as I do. Seeing him there fills me with a sense of calmness, and I can't help but smile. He wears blue shorts and a blue and white button-down short-sleeve shirt. His Rolex is the only thing on his arm. His hair looks like he just stepped out of the shower and brushed his hands through it. His Ray-Ban glasses are sitting on his head. His eyes look bloodshot, and I'm pretty sure mine match his, but I haven't looked at myself in the mirror, afraid of what will be looking back at me.

"That depends," I say, looking around and sitting with my back against the window. "It's only available if your fiancé cheated on you and you are here for a good time?" He shakes his head. "If this is not you, then you can't sit here."

He throws his head back and laughs. "Excuse me, sir," the attendant says, "if you can take your seat."

He sits down and fastens his seat belt, then looks over at me. "So what changed your mind?" I ask, not really caring since he's here.

"Getting home and seeing Sheila's shit all over the place," he shares, putting his hands in his lap. The plane jerks, and I yip out and jump.

"Are you okay?" he asks, and I look out the window seeing the plane moving down the runway.

"I hate flying," I admit, looking to make sure that nothing is burning on the plane and we have to abort the mission.

He grabs my hand. "I gotcha," he says, his voice calmer than I've ever heard before. "I've always gotcha."

Ace

I reach over the big armrest in the middle of the two first-class seats and grab her hand in mine. "I gotcha." My voice comes out calm when I see her eyes are filled with fear. "I've always gotcha." All she does is nod at me and then turns to look out the window.

"I can pretty much handle anything that you throw at me," she says, trying to remain calm as the plane makes its way down the runway. "I could pretty much wrestle with a tiger, and I'd feel better than being in a plane." Her leg starts to bounce up and down as she looks out the window.

"Hey." She turns to look at me. "Don't look outside," I tell her. "Just look at me."

The plane stops for a second, and I know that we are lining up to take off. I also know that once it starts moving faster, she'll probably freak out. "So what time did you get home yesterday?" I ask, not sure that I should even bring up yesterday, but at least her mind will be off the takeoff.

"I have no idea," she says, leaning her head back on the seat. She still has some makeup from yesterday on, and her eyes are a bright blue with red on the side, so I'm assuming she slept as great as I did. "I was looking for you." Her hand grips my hand a touch harder when the plane moves.

"I left after you fell asleep on me," I inform her. "Walked out, saw the family dancing, and decided that this was not what I wanted to do."

She laughs. "Right, because getting drunk by yourself was a better solution."

"Um," I say, rolling my eyes. "Obviously. Who doesn't like going home and getting shit-faced and then waking up and thinking about being fucked over in front of three hundred people."

She nods. "That's very manly of you." She laughs as the plane starts to move, but she doesn't notice. "Did you go home and rub dirt in it?"

"I woke up naked on my leather couch," I tell her the truth, and her eyes go big. "And someone had turned off the air-conditioning." I close my eyes. "I had to peel myself off it." Her mouth drops open. "Would not recommend to anyone." I shake my head as the plane speeds up even faster, and I continue my story so she can concentrate on me and not the fact that we are taking off. "I mean, I recommend Joseph do it and Sheila, but that's about it."

"I would recommend that they pour honey all over their bodies," she suggests. "And then go roll in sand and add in a couple of fire ants for some fun."

"Look outside." She turns her head, and her mouth goes into a smile.

"We took off," she says. "I didn't even notice. I had to share my most embarrassing moment with you." My thumb rubs her hand.

"I don't know how to thank you." Her voice is light, just like it was before the dreaded day. She leans over and kisses my cheek. "You're my hero." My heart speeds up, and my cheek still tingles from where she kissed me. "But seriously." She relaxes in her chair now, but her hand stays in mine. "When did you decide to come?"

"To be honest. It's pretty much a blur." I shake my head, trying to pinpoint that moment, but everything is coming in bits and pieces. "I don't know when exactly I decided to come on this trip, but apparently, it was while ending the second whiskey bottle. During which time, I was stumbling around my house and throwing all of Sheila's shit in a plastic bag. When my alarm went off this morning, I thought the house was on fire. I couldn't understand what was going on. I also couldn't find where the fucking blaring alarm was coming from. I kept walking around the house with one eye open because the other one was seeing double."

Her mouth opens as she tries not to laugh, but her blue eyes light up. "Where did you find it?"

"Right on top of the suitcase." I shake my head. "I almost killed myself because I kept tripping all over Sheila's shit that was scattered all over the house."

"I thought you said it was in a bag?" She’s trying not to laugh.

"No, that was the plan." I laugh at myself. "But I didn't exactly open the bag to put the stuff in, so it made a path all through the house." She puts her hand in front of her mouth. "Also did that fully naked, so that was fun." Her head goes back, and she laughs again. "I took it as a sign that I should come and drown my sorrows in the sand."

"Well, I think that was a great decision," she says. "We can drown together."

"Besides"—I look around—"I can only endure so many looks of pity."

"My mother was still giving me the look this morning when she asked me if it was smart that I go." She shrugs.

"Your mother was the first pity look I got." I laugh at her. "I mean, I'm sure I got lots of them walking down the aisle after you and ignoring Sheila." The attendant comes over when the seat belt sign goes off.

"Can I get you guys something to drink?"

"I'll have another mimosa, and he'll have a whiskey," Shelby says.

I shake my head. "I'll just have ice water."

"How are we supposed to drown our sorrows with ice water?" she huffs, and I laugh. She finally lets my hand go.

"I was so parched this morning," I tell her. "I drank my shower water while it was pouring on my face."

She laughs again. "This is going to be a great week." She turns to look out the window. "I can feel it."

"I don't want to feel anything this week," I mumble when the attendant comes over with a tray and hands me my water, and Shelby leans across me to get her mimosa.

"To an unforgettable week." She holds up her glass. "Oh, wait, is that right?" She looks to the side now. "Do we want to forget this week, or do we want to forget last week?" I roll my lips to keep from laughing at her as she works it out in her head. "Whatever." She holds her glass up, and I clink it.

The rest of the flight is uneventful, and I doze off for a bit, waking up when I hear the captain announcing that we will be arriving in fifteen minutes. My neck hurts from staying in the same position for too long. Something tickles my nose, and I look down to see Shelby's head falling off my shoulder. I think about waking her, but I know that she hates flying, so instead, I let her sleep until the wheels touch down. "Hey." I put my cheek on her head. "We're here."

She grumbles awake. "What is that pounding?" She looks around, and I try not to laugh at her, but I can't help it.

"It's called a hangover." I reach out my hand and wipe the black makeup that is under her eye with my thumb. "Also, you got black shit."

"I'm starving." She bends her arms and stretches, arching her back. She is wearing a baby-blue tank top with spaghetti straps. "I really need to eat." She grabs the sweater laid over her lap. She leans forward, grabbing her bag under the seat in front of her and tosses the sweater inside it. When the plane stops, and we are allowed to get up, I step out into the aisle and hold out my hand for her. She slips her hand in mine, and I point at the overhead bin instead of asking her because, for some odd fucking reason, all the words are stuck in my throat. She shakes her head, and we walk out of the plane.

The hot air hits us right away as we stand in the middle of the tarmac on the metal stairs. "Why is it so bright?" she mumbles as we make our way into the airport. I hold the door open for her as she steps into the cool baggage claim area. "I'm going to go do something with my face." She looks around for the signs to the bathroom.

"What color is your bag?" She laughs.

"White. It says bride on it," she says, and I think she's kidding. "You won't miss it."

I shake my head and head over to the baggage carousel. The beep tells me that the luggage will soon arrive as the area gets more crowded. The belt starts moving, and when the first bag comes out, I groan. She was not fucking kidding. Not only is it white with the big letters that say bride but there is also tulle tied to the handles. I grab the bag, and the man and woman standing next to me smile. I don't even know what to say. "Oh, you got my bag," I hear from behind me and turn to see her wearing a white shirt now.

"I thought you were kidding," I grumble when I see my silver luggage come out.

"One does not kid about a bride suitcase." She smirks at me, and I see that her face is makeup-free now. All the black marks are gone.

"Apparently, one needs everyone to know that they got married." I smirk over at her as the lady that smiled at me leans in.

"Congrats, you two," she says. "You make a beautiful couple."

I look at Shelby, who just nods and then turns around. "Remind me to get a couple of markers when we get to the hotel and fuck this shit up." She looks over at me as we walk toward the exit.

"You know what you can do," I say. "Put runaway before the bride." I laugh. "No one is going to want to talk to you after they read that."

"That just might be the best plan you've ever had." We walk toward the exit and see the driver standing there with a big sign in his hand with hearts all over it.

Mr. & Mrs. J. Romano

"He's not going to need that sign," I say under my breath and look over to see how Shelby will react. I don't have time because the man's face fills with a huge smile.

His eyes find the luggage as he comes over to us. "Welcome," he says.

"What tipped you off?" I ask him, and his smile never leaves his face while he looks down at the luggage.

"That's what I thought." I try not to laugh.

"Are those the only bags you have?" the driver asks as he tucks the sign under his arm, rushing to grab the luggage from us, and we both nod. "I'll take that." He grabs the handles as he wheels them behind him. "If you’ll follow me."

We follow him to the white limousine. "You know what that outfit is missing?" I put my arm around her shoulders. "A hat with a veil." She turns her head to look up at me and glares.

"Remember when I said you should come with me?" She pushes away from me, but my arm remains around her shoulders. "I lied. You can go home."

"Go home?" I stop as the driver opens the door. A white balloon flies out, and from the looks of it, there are more in the car. "And miss all the fun?"

Shelby

"Remember when I said you should come with me?" I try to push away from him, but his arm doesn't let me go. "I lied. You can go home." I was annoyed with him but also annoyed that when I got out of the bathroom, and I looked over at him, I got this squishy feeling inside me. It was all that fucking whiskey, I thought.

"Go home?" I watch the lone white balloon escape the back of the car as the driver holds the door open. I hear Ace chuckling next to me, and I want to groan. "And miss all the fun?" He shakes his head. "Nope." He ducks and gets into the car. "Holy shit." He looks at me, and I can just tell that he wants to laugh. "Dear." He holds out his hand for me but I ignore it and get into the car. If he wasn't right, I would laugh out loud.

There are white balloons all over the L-shaped seats with Mr. & Mrs. hanging on each side of the car. "This is spectacular." He sits back and looks around. "Don't you think?"

"I should have called the resort," I admit. "Fuck," I say as the door closes, and then so does the trunk. "I need a drink." I lean over and grab one of the champagne flutes that is filled. "Are you still on your water kick?"

"Nope," he replies, and I hand him a glass. I'm about to say something to him when the car starts and the music coming out of the speakers is a wedding march. "Is that . . .?" He puts his head forward to hear better. "Is that the ‘wedding march’?"

"To divorce." I hold up my glass and don’t even clink it with his before I finish the whole thing in one go. I grab the bottle and just take a sip from the top. "I'm assuming you don't want any."

"You would assume correctly." He takes a sip of his drink. "That's not that bad." He looks at the glass as I look out the window, seeing crystal blue water on either side of us.

Neither of us says anything as the car stops, and I put the half-empty bottle back in the holder. "You’re not taking that to go?" he asks, and I just glare at him as I get out of the car first. I take a step and then stop when I see a woman holding up the same sign that we saw at the airport. A man stands beside her with a silver tray and two glasses of champagne.

Ace’s hand rests on my hip as he tries not to push me down. "Why did you stop?" he gruffs out and then looks up. "Oh my God." I look up from in front of him as he puts his sunglasses on his head. "I didn't think it could get worse," he mumbles. "Fuck me."

"Mr. and Mrs. Romano," the man says, coming to us. "I'm your concierge, Roberto."

"Nope," Ace says from behind me, and my heart speeds up, thinking about how I'm going to have to tell this stranger that I didn't get married. "I actually took her name, Mr. Baker,” he says and the man's face drops. "We're a modern couple like that. Just call us Ace and Shelby."

"No problem, sir," he responds, holding the tray in front of us. There are also two white towels rolled beside the glasses with little heart-shaped confetti. Ace keeps one hand on my hip while he grabs a glass and hands it to me.

"What the hell are you doing?" I hiss at him as my hand comes up to take the glass.

"If you will come this way." His hand points at the golf cart that is decorated with the same Mr. & Mrs. that is in the car.

"After you." Ace moves his hand from my hip to the lower part of my back. "Missus."

I flip him the bird, downing my glass of champagne and then handing it to the lady before I climb up into the golf cart. I grab Ace's glass and drink it, then hand him back the empty glass. "That's my bride." I glare at him, and he laughs as my head jerks back when the golf cart starts to move.

"If you look on either side," Roberto starts talking as we make our way down the pathway that is a wooden bridge. "You will see six private villas." I look over and see three on each side. "Each villa has its own pool and ocean entrance."

"This place is gorgeous," Ace says from beside me, and I just nod. The minute I saw it while scrolling on Instagram, I was a sucker for it.

"Each villa has its own concierge for all your needs. We are on call twenty-four hours a day." Roberto looks in the back, smiling. "Whatever you need." He stops when we get to the last villa at the very end. "This is the best villa," he announces, getting out.

"How many times do you think he says that a day?" Ace asks when he gets out on his side, and I follow him getting out on my own side.

"Right this way.” He walks toward the door that says Six on it. He opens the door, and you can see all the way through to the back.

I walk in first and stop again in my tracks, making Ace smash into me. His hand grips my hip once again, and my stomach flutters. There are red rose petals in a path from the front door to the glass doors that lead to the bedroom. White candles in glass vases light up the already bright room. A beige couch against the wall has a brown coffee table in front of it. A silver bucket sits in the middle with a bottle of champagne chilling. Two crystal glasses are next to it with a whole plate of fresh fruit. Roberto is going on and on about the room, and I slowly move away from Ace and his grip on me to go straight to the bedroom. The whole back wall of the room is glass windows that slide open. A soft breeze makes the white veil that is hanging around the four-poster bed sway. "If you come this way," Roberto invites, stepping out in front of the bed to the patio that looks like it goes all the way around. "This is your private pool." He points at the pool off to the side next to the four-poster daybed that has the same white linen on it. “And those stairs lead down to the ocean." He gestures to the stairs.

"There is only one bed." I look back at Roberto, who just smirks. My heart suddenly kicks up when I feel Ace beside me.

"Only one bed." He nods at me.

"So how about another villa?" Ace asks him. "Like that one." He points at the villa next door.

"You don't like this one?" Roberto asks, crushed.

"Oh, we love this one," Ace starts to say. "But is there one with two beds?" Roberto looks at Ace and then me and then back at Ace again. "She snores." And my mouth goes wide in shock.

"He squeals like a pig when we have sex, so I don't want to bother the neighbors."

He claps his hands. "This is a honeymoon resort. But it's very discreet, and you can't hear the sex."

"What about a room over there?" He points at what looks like little villas.

"That's the family part of the resort, and it's all booked. There is a big hockey family down for a family vacation. Booked the whole thing," Roberto says. "You relax, and I get your luggage, yeah?"

"That sounds great," I say, suddenly nervous that I'll be stuck here in a one-bedroom room with Ace.

He nods and walks out of the room, and I look over at Ace. His arm comes up to run his fingers through his hair, and I see the muscles of his arm bulge. His button-down shirt also lifts a bit at the hem, and I have to look away before he catches me. "It's going to be fine," he says, and I look over at him, finally seeing him holding his neck, which makes his chest puff out. I've always found him attractive. If you asked me what my husband would look like, I always said brown hair and blue eyes. "We can make this work. I can sleep on the couch." He turns to walk back into the room and stops, and I stop next to him.

There is a rose-petal-shaped heart in the middle of the bed. "Jesus." He scratches his head and heads back into the living room. The rose petals under his feet go everywhere. He grabs the bottle of champagne and pops it. It's exploding all over him, spraying his shirt and then onto his shorts. He tries to jump out of the way, but it slowly stops. "That did not work out the way I thought it would." He laughs at himself, putting the bottle down on the table and then unbuttoning his shirt. My eyes watch his hands as if it's in slow motion. He gets to the last button and then just lets his shirt hang on the sides. He bends to grab the champagne bottle and fills both glasses, and then he shakes off the excess champagne on his hands. "Here you go." He picks up the glasses and holds one out for me with a smile. Everything inside me suddenly stops. My heart speeds up, and my stomach feels like there is a tornado going on inside me. "To the missus." He smirks and holds up his hand. My eyes go to his chest, and I swallow down, lifting my hand and clicking my glass to his before turning around as if my eyes would burn out of my skull if I kept staring at him.

There is a knock on the door, and I'm suddenly happy to get my heart rate down as I see Roberto come in with our luggage. "Here you are. If you like, we will bring you some lunch."

I just nod at him while Ace puts his glass down and goes to grab his bag. "I made a mess," he says, pointing at the floor, and Roberto just looks at him.

"We will come back and clean it right away." He takes out his walkie-talkie from behind him and calls someone, walking out of the room. I turn back, looking at the water, and then my eyes go to the single king-sized bed.

"Maybe this wasn't such a great idea after all." I turn back around to talk to Ace and see him turning to walk to the side where the bathroom is.

"I don't know about you," he says over his shoulder, "but that water is calling my name." He walks into the bathroom and closes the door behind him, and I let out the huge breath I was keeping in.

My hand comes up to touch my face, and I wonder if maybe I'm getting a fever. "That was so weird," I voice out loud to the empty room. Walking back over to the table, I pick up the champagne and pour myself another glass when the bathroom door opens. I make the mistake of looking up, forgetting I'm pouring champagne until I hear it spilling onto the table. "Shit," I say, avoiding looking back at Ace. He steps out of the bathroom with only his bathing suit hanging low on his hips. A lot has changed since I've seen him in a bathing suit last year. One, he's a lot leaner, but his muscles are more defined. His chest is perfect, and then my eyes roam down to his abs, which are so on point it's like a washboard, and then the side has that muscle that you see in guys on the cover of those romance books. I wonder what it would feel like to bite it, my head thinks right before the right side of the brain tells me to get under control.

"Are you okay?" He laughs nervously, and all I can do is nod my head, leaning over and sipping the top to make sure I don't spill any more. "Are you coming?" He points at the water.

"Yeah," I say to his retreating back. Putting the glass down, I run to my phone.

My hands shake as I start the text to my sisters.

Me: Maybe coming here was a mistake.

Clarabella: Negative.

Me: I think I have jungle fever or something.

Presley: You can't get jungle fever from being there for two hours.

Me: I'm suffering from something. My head is all out of whack.

Clarabella: You just found out the man you were going to marry is fucking one of your friends. If your head isn't out of whack from that, I don't know what will make it be ot of whack. Drink a cocktail.

With a frustrated groan, I go to my luggage, unzipping it and opening it up. I squat down in front of it and groan when I see my clothes. "It's all fuck-me clothes." I close my eyes. When I was packing for this vacation, I decided that the skimpier the outfit, the better. I worked out like a madwoman for the past six months, and I was going to flaunt the benefits from it. I rummage through the string thongs and lingerie until I spot the most conservative bathing suit.

"It's going to be fine," I tell myself while I walk to the bathroom and undress. "It's going to be fine. It's Ace." I try to convince my brain of that as I slip my feet into the bathing suit. The bottom of the suit is white while the top is black. It's a one-piece, but the middle is a round circle, leaving my stomach and under my boobs bare. The sash that ties in the middle is held on by gold chain links. I take one look at myself and then turn to see that it's barely covering my ass. "Here goes nothing," I say, pulling open the bathroom door and walking through the villa toward the back.

I take a step out, and the hot sun hits me right away. I put my hand on my forehead, blocking the sun and looking for him. He is squatting down in the water, looking up at the sun. His hair is wet and slicked back. "Hey," I say once I get down to the last step before getting into the water. His eyes open, and he looks over at me. His mouth hangs open when he sees me. "How's the water?" I ask right before a wave comes and knocks him down.

Ace

I feel the heat on my face as I look up at the sky and then hear her. "Hey." I open my eyes and look over at the dock, where the stairs are as she stands there in . . . I can't even describe what she's wearing. All I know is there is a lot of skin showing, and her under boobs are sticking out. My cock rises with just one look at her. "How's the water?" she asks, and every single word I've ever learned is gone from my vocabulary, as my mouth opens and closes and nothing comes out right before I'm hit in the head with a wave.

My head comes out of the water as I choke from swallowing salt water. I look over and see her walking into the water. "It's so warm," she says, walking to me, and I suddenly wish there was an ice bath I could dunk myself into.

"I've never seen you in that bathing suit." The words just come out of my mouth, and I want to bite my tongue. My head gets really hot with the sun, and I think that maybe, just maybe, I'm having a heatstroke. I look up at the sun high in the sky when I hear a voice call over.

"Mr. and Mrs. Baker," the man says, coming over to the dock. "I brought you some drinks." He places the tray he is holding on top of the water and pushes it to us. "I will come back with more," he says, waving and turning around.

"Oh, look how cute this is," she says, grabbing the tray and moving it to the middle of us. "They have little names for every drink." There are eight drinks on the tray in short glasses. "This is sex on the beach." She picks up the first one and takes a sip. "Hmm, that tastes good." She looks at me. "Should we try each of them or finish one off after another?"

At this point, I don't think I should even touch the alcohol in front of me. My brain is getting all fogged up. "We should taste each one and then rate them," my mouth says while my brain yells it’s a bad idea.

She claps her hands. "That sounds like the best idea." The smile on her face is so bright. "I need glasses." She turns and walks back to the steps. If I thought the front was racy, I definitely was not expecting the back part of it. The bathing suit goes high up but barely covers her ass. It's not a thong, it's even sexier, and I close my eyes and try to count to ten. "Do you want yours?" she asks. I open my eyes, and all I can do is nod. She sways her hips as she walks back up the steps. "What the fuck is going on right now?" I pick up the sex on the beach drink and down it in three gulps.

I hear her walking back down the steps and see that her nipples are hard as she walks back into the water. "Here you go," she says, handing me my glasses, and I put them on so she doesn't see me ogle her. "You finished sex on the beach." She picks up her drink, and it takes her four gulps to finish hers. "There, we are even." She smiles at me, and I hate that I can't see her eyes with her glasses. "What are we trying next?" she asks. "Let's try this one." She picks up the green drink. "This is called skinny-dip." She giggles and hands me mine. We take a sip at the same time. "This is okay," she declares, scrunching up her nose. "It's too sweet."

"Same." I put the drink down, thinking it's not a good idea to put more alcohol in me.

"This is a French kiss," she reads, picking up the light pink drink. She tilts her head to the side, and it would take nothing for my head to bend and take the French kiss from her. She holds the drink up to her lips and takes a small sip, and she moans. "This is a good one," she says, finishing it all, and I take a sip and finish my own.

"That was good," I agree, and I pick up the last one. "That’s called a love affair," I say, handing her a glass and then taking my own. I hold up my glass. "To love affairs."

"I already love this drink," she claims, finishing her glass before she can even tell me if it's good or not. "Yum," she says, licking her lips. "Sun and alcohol, doesn't get better than that."

I nod at her. "So what was your plan for the week?" I ask as she holds out her hand for my drink. I hand it to her, and she takes a sip.

"I was planning on getting drunk and sleeping with the first person I saw." She laughs and throws her head back.

I stare at her. "It's a honeymoon resort," I gasp and try not to laugh, and she just shrugs.

"There has to be one person on this island who would fuck me," she says.

Sun and booze should never ever be mixed, especially when one is next to the hottest girl he's ever fucking met. Especially when his cock is hard as a rock. "There definitely is," I say or better yet my cock says it for me. Her head whips over to me, and she's about to say something. My heart speeds up, and I'm thinking about what I'm going to say that will make any of this make sense. I can hear words in my head, but I'm saved by the bell when we hear someone approaching.

"Mr. and Mrs. Baker, here are some more drinks and some snacks," another man says. She's about to say something, and I just hold up a hand. He puts the tray down. "I will be here if you need something."

"Oh, God," she says, finishing off the drink she had in her hand to call him back.

"It's not even worth it," I tell her. "What we can do is every time someone says Mr. or Mrs., we take a shot, and if they say it at the same time, it's double shot time."

"Yes, I love when we play drinking games," she announces, getting close to me, and I have to squat down in the water to make sure she doesn't see my boner because there are no words in the dictionary that can justify getting a hard-on for your best friend. "Remember that time we watched The Bachelor, and we drank every time someone said that they fell in love."

"Remember that time we watched 90 Day Fiancé, and the word green card came up?" I shake my head. "I think I passed out for two days." She throws her head back and laughs. "So seriously, did you guys not plan to do anything while you were here?"

"We have a private boat tour tomorrow," she says. "And a massage the day after. Then there was the parasailing."

"Did you plan all that?" I ask, knowing she probably would have planned the massage but not sure about the private boat tour.

"Sort of. I just left it up to the hotel," she says, turning in the water and grabbing a piece of fruit.

"Well, let’s make the best of it," I suggest, and she nods at me. We stay in the water so long we are both shriveled, and when she gets out, my body goes stiff again. Roberto is there waiting with towels for us.

"We will be having dinner at six," he says, handing me my towel. I grab it fast, wrapping it around my waist, hoping she doesn't see my cock hard again for her.

"That works," I reply. "Why don't you go take a shower first?" She grabs a piece of pineapple and walks into the house.

I close my eyes and put my hands on my hips. "You're a creep," I mumble to myself as I walk over to the daybed but stop when I see that our luggage is stored under the bed. I walk over to the closet and see our things hanging and open the first drawer, and all I see is string and lace and all of it white. "Jesus," I say, shutting it back right away.

I move over to the daybed and lie down, closing my eyes. I don't know how long I lie here until I hear her say, "Okay, you can have the bathroom.” She walks out wrapped in a white plush robe and her hair twisted in a towel.

"I'll leave the door open in case you need anything," I say, getting up and then only realizing what I said once I'm in the bathroom door. Why the fuck would I leave the door open if I'm naked in the shower? "Idiot," I say, looking over at the tub that sits in front of the window that shows you the ocean. I take a shower, and all I can do is smell her all around me. Her strawberry champagne body wash is so strong. I get out and wrap the towel around my waist and look up at the ceiling when it dawns on me that I have no clothes in the bathroom. I stick my head out, looking around, and when I don't see her anywhere, I walk out and go to the bedroom and then stop when I see her outside leaning against the railing. Her hair is down and blowing in the wind. Her long dress is also flowing in the breeze, and I rush to grab my things before she notices. She must see movement because she turns, and I stop midstep. "Forgot my stuff," I admit as she turns fully around with the sun setting behind her. Her black tube top leaves her shoulders bare and also falls just above her belly button. The long black dress that I thought she was wearing is actually pants, and when she takes a step forward, the whole front of it opens all the way to the top of her hips. Her face has a bit of red from the sun. "You look . . ." I say, pointing at her.

I'm about to say something else when there is a knock on the front door that is wide open, but my eyes never leave hers. "Mr. and Mrs. Baker," Roberto says, smiling. "Shall I come back?" he asks when he sees me in my towel.

"I'm just getting dressed," I mumble. Walking to the closet, I grab my things and go back into the bathroom. I slip on my black boxers and black shorts with a black-and-white button-down shirt. When I walk out, she's sitting on the couch drinking a shot.

"He called me Mrs. five times, so." She points down at the full shot glass. "You have some catching up to do." I walk up to the table and down the shots without looking at her.

We walk down the wooden board bridge, and all through supper, we keep doing shots and laughing. At one point, I think they called me Mrs. When she gets up from the table, she has to hold the edge, and then she sits back down, and her laughter fills the room. I hold out my hand for her. "Shall we, Mrs." I joke with her, and she puts her hand in mine as we walk out. Her fingers link with mine as we walk down the lit patch, zigzagging along the way, and at one point, we stop walking. "Is that?" I hold up my hand to make everything around me go quiet, but all you can hear is the sound of the water crashing on the rocks and then in the far distance moaning.

"Is that sex?" She tries to whisper, but it comes out louder than her regular voice, and she steps closer to me as she concentrates and listens. "Someone is getting it on tonight." She giggles as we continue walking.

When we walk into the room, we both stop when we see more decorations now. This time, it's all white roses scattered with white candles. "If they are going to do this every night, I don't know how I can stay here." I look around, and she walks over to the bedroom. "Also, if I never see anything white again . . ."

"Let's go watch the stars." She motions with her head, and she rolls her lips when she looks into the bedroom. "Because you definitely don't want to sleep on the bed."

Shelby

"Let's go watch the stars." I motion with my head toward the outdoor area. I stop when I see the white roses on the bed in a heart with our first letters in red in the middle of the bed. I look back at Ace, who stands by the door. "Because you definitely don't want to sleep on the bed." I point at the bed, and he glares at me as he walks beside me.

"Oh my God. Well, at least they didn't put a J," he says, shaking his head and walking out toward the daybed. "We don't need another room." He lies down on one side. "I can sleep out here."

My feet move faster than my brain does, and by the time I realize something is happening,I lie down on the other side looking up at the sky. "Is it me, or are there a lot more stars in the sky?" I ask him as I see the twinkling in the sky.

"You know what keeps going through my head," he says, and I look over at him, and for more than the second time today, I'm struck by how hot he his. I drank more than my share of booze while we were in the ocean today because there were times I wanted to lean over and lick his chest. "Are you listening, or did you fall asleep?" He laughs.

"I'm listening with bated breath," I say, knowing it’s wrong. "What is going through your head right now?"

He takes a deep breath. "What the fuck happened?"

"You are going to have to be more specific about that." I laugh at him as a soft breeze runs over us.

"When did it start?" I turn on my side to look at him. He looks up at the sky as I wait for him to give me more of his thoughts.

"I'm pretty sure it started when we got in the car," I say, giggling, and he laughs. "But I think it started to go downhill when we did the sex on the beach drinks, or it could have been the shots we did at dinner."

"Not that." He shakes his head, and his voice goes soft. "Sheila and like when she told me she was working late was that when she met him? When I went away for work, did he spend the night at her house? Did they sleep together before the wedding? Did we go out on a date, and then he went over when I dropped her off?" He turns, and I see the anguish in his eyes. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No," I whisper, my hand coming out and going on his chest, feeling his heart beating under my hand. "We did nothing wrong. I went through it in my head over and over again the whole time I was getting my makeup done. I would look over at Sheila and wonder did she fuck him right before she got here. Did he call her this morning? What did she give him that I didn't?" I take a deep breath. "To answer your question, this is more of a them problem than an us problem." He just smiles at me, and I close my eyes for a second, or at least that is how long it felt.

The next thing I know, I hear birds chirping. I hear myself groan, and I try to open my eyes, but they feel sealed shut. I focus on the task of opening my eyes. One of them flutters open for half a second before it shuts when the brightness of the sun hits me. I move my head to the side, trying to wet my lips, but my mouth is dry, and I feel like sand is on my tongue. I have to wonder if I slept with my mouth open and some sand flew into it. I take a deep inhale, and I feel this heaviness on my chest. I groan and open one eye, looking around. Memories of last night come back in blocks. Dinner and then looking at the stars and then talking. I look over, seeing Ace asleep beside me. I close my eyes and turn my head and try to move, but something is holding me down. When I open my eyes and look down at my chest, I see his hand is cupping my breast. Almost like a death grip. My eyes open wide as I look around, not moving a single muscle in my body. His hand is on my breast, my head screams. I repeat, his hand is on my breast. I ignore the little butterflies in my stomach or the fact that my heart speeds up.

"Morning," I hear him mumble from beside me, and my head turns to look at him. His eyes open and close for a second as he gets used to the sunlight.

"Morning," I reply as he finally opens his eyes. I look at him and then look down at my breast, hoping he follows my eyes, but he doesn't. I swallow down the cotton ball that is in the back of my mouth. "Do you mind?" I say, looking at him and motioning with my head to his hand, trying to make this as unawkward as I can.

He smirks at me, and then he says. "Do you mind?" His eyes go from mine down to his cock. And I shriek when I realize that my hand is right on his cock, and it's hard. "Oh my God." I whip my hand off and jump off the daybed, avoiding his eye contact. "I didn't know."

"It's fine," he mumbles and rolls off the daybed, his shirt all wrinkled and his eyes looking sleepy.

"I'm going to the bathroom," I declare, not waiting for him to say anything and running into the bathroom. I close the bathroom door behind me and hang my head, my eyes looking at my hand that was on his cock. "What the hell were you thinking?" I push away from the door and walk over to the bathroom sink, turning on just the cold water. I cup my hands under the stream of water and then throw it on my face. I repeat it three times before I grab a small plush white towel and dab my face while looking at myself in the mirror. "What the hell is going on with you?" I ask my reflection, wondering if someone else will answer. Instead, there is a knock on the door. I look over at the closed door. "Yeah."

"Are you going to be long in there?" Ace asks, and I put the towel down, walking over to the door and opening it. I avoid making eye contact with him as I walk past him, and all I can smell is his aftershave, which makes my body come alive. He walks into the bathroom and closes the door behind him, and all I can do is walk over to the bar area and grab a bottle of water. I open it and down half of it, sitting on the couch. When I hear the door open, I look up and see that he's washed his face also and has pushed his hair back with his hands.

He looks at me. "Maybe this is a bad idea." The words come out of my mouth before I even process what I was going to say. "This whole thing being here at a honeymoon resort it's …"

I look at him, hoping he’ll jump in and agree with me. And he looks like he's going to say something when there is a knock on the door. "For a honeymoon resort." He moves toward the door. My eyes go to his ass and then quickly look up when he looks over his shoulder. "They have the worst timing."

"Good morning, Mr. Ace," Roberto says, rolling in a cart full of food. "I hope I didn't wake you."

"Nope," I respond when he sees me. "We are awake."

"It's going to be a beautiful day." His voice is chipper, and I look over at Ace, who is just staring at me and making me even more nervous. "The car leaves in thirty minutes. I will set this up outside, yes?" he asks, and I just nod at him.

"Should we even go?" I look at Ace, trying not to overthink things, but my brain is going around and around in a circle. The sound of a champagne bottle makes us look out toward Roberto, who is filling the glasses for mimosas.

"Let's eat," Ace suggests, and when I walk to the table and sit down, I actually eat more food than I thought I would, but neither of us says anything to each other. "I'm going to go get changed," he says when he finishes his second dish. "And then you can go."

"Yeah," I say when he walks in, and I look at the glass of mimosa, thinking I shouldn't even permit myself to drink it. But my hand thinks before my head, and I down the drink. I put the glass down when he walks out of the bathroom, and he's wearing another pair of shorts. This pair is green with little pineapples on them. "Do you have a beach bag?" he asks like he didn't just walk out of the bathroom looking like one of those GQ guys on fitness magazines.

"When did you start working out?" If I wanted to crawl into a hole before those words came out of my mouth, these words make me want the floor to swallow me whole.

"Um, I started doing CrossFit." He smirks. "And then just biking and lifting weights."

All I can do is nod at him, getting up and walking over to the closet I see that it's half-empty, and then I open the first drawer. "Not my drawer," I say when I spot two boxes of condoms and then some lube and also some massage oils. "Did you bring this?" I look over at him, and he walks to me. He laughs out when he sees the drawer.

"Someone was expecting to have a party." He picks up the lube now. "What's in the second drawer?" he asks, and I shake my head.

"Probably whips and handcuffs," I mumble, walking over to the other closet and finding my things."I'm going to change," I say as he picks up the boxes of condoms.

"He's Ace," I mumble to myself as I slip on the pink bikini top. "It's Ace." I shake my head to make the fuzziness become clear, but all I can do is see him smirking at me. Slipping on the pink bikini bottoms with leaves I look at myself, seeing that my ass is again not covered but it's better than the string bikini that I have. The crochet cover-up shows what I'm wearing under it but at least some of me is covered.

"The car is here," Ace says, and I open the door walking to grab my beach bag. "He said that he has everything ready for us and to just bring ourselves." I don't say anything to him as I grab my glasses and walk out with him following me. I look over my shoulder and see his eyes on my ass. When he sees me looking, he puts his sunglasses over his eyes. "It's really bright outside," he claims.

I get in the golf cart, and he sits right beside me. "Are we ready?" Roberto says from the front with enthusiasm.

I want to tell him that no one is ready. That this is a bad idea and that we should pack our stuff and go home. But instead, I answer, "As ready as I'll ever be."

Ace

"Watch your step," the captain says as we step onto the boat. Shelby puts her hand in his as she takes a step onto the back of the boat. Her ass is barely covered in that white dress. When I woke up this morning with my hand on her tit, I thought I was going to die, but then I felt her hand on my dick, and I didn't feel so bad.

"Welcome aboard," the woman says, holding a tray with drinks, and after last night, I'm not sure I should be drinking anything today.

"Thank you," Shelby says, smiling at her, and then grabs one of the glasses.

"We will be leaving any second," the lady declares. "I'm Simone, and I'll be assisting Captain Davey. If you need anything, just let me know. There is sunscreen on the table." I look over at the wooden table with four chairs and see the big bowl in the middle with all the sunscreens.

Shelby walks to the table, putting her straw bag down and then her glass. She looks at me. "Are you not going to drink?"

"Maybe later," I say. My eyes never leave her face, but she doesn't know this since I'm wearing my sunglasses.

"If you like, you can watch from the front of the boat," Simone sugggests. "Or you can sit out here." She points over to the two couch sets that are sitting in the sun.

"I'm good wherever you want to go," I tell Shelby, and she smiles.

"Let's go sit in the front." She turns and walks to the inside of the boat, where there is a small kitchen and another living room set. She walks through to the front of the boat, going down two steps before arriving at the big net over the water. "Oh, this looks like an accident waiting to happen," she says, putting one foot on the net, and my hand reaches out for hers, making sure she doesn't fall.

She laughs, and I take a step down with her hand in mine. When I get my second foot on the net, I release her hand and put my arm around her waist. "Can you imagine doing this drunk?" She laughs as we make it to the middle. I don't answer her because her hand goes on mine on her waist, and my cock springs to action. I look down, making sure my white shirt covers it. "This is good." She stops and bends to her knees and then sits down. I follow her and look out at the dock as Simone starts to untie us. "It's so pretty," she says as the sun shines right above us.

I stretch my legs out in front of me and lean back on my hands as I watch us get farther away from the dock. She sits beside me in the same position as me, and all I can see are her long bare legs. Legs I've always admired from afar. Legs that always tempted me.

"We are going to anchor the boat," Simone says, standing on the side of the boat. "And set out the toys for you. What would you like to do?"

"I have no idea," Shelby replies and turns to look at me. "What do you want to do?"

"What do people usually do?" I ask, and she smirks at me.

"They usually drink a lot and then have sex." She laughs at her own joke. "But they usually start with the paddleboarding."

"Okay," Shelby says. "Well, I'll start with the paddleboard but no booze for me." Shelby looks at me. "What about you? Did you want to do the sex?" she says and then shakes her head. "I mean, paddleboard."

I chuckle at her nervousness. "I can do both," I answer, and Shelby turns, getting on her knees.

"I'm going to go to the bathroom." She crawls toward Simone. "Can you show me where the bathroom is?" Simone turns, and she follows her, and it gives me a chance to let out the breath I was keeping inside me and adjust my hard cock.

"Calm down there, buddy, it's a no-fly zone," I remind him, getting up and walking back inside. I take off my shirt as Simone walks to the front, and I hear the anchor going into the water. Grabbing the sunscreen from the bowl, I put a bit in my hand and start to do my legs and then my chest when Shelby comes back out. "Can you do me first, and then I can do you next?"

I ask her, and her eyes go big like saucers. "The sunscreen," I explain, holding up the bottle. "What did you think I meant?" I put my head to the side and wait for her to answer, but all she does is shake her head.

She walks over to the tray with the spare drink and finishes it off. "Obviously, I thought you meant sunscreen." She takes off her white cover-up, which makes everything so much worse. I have to swallow down the lump in my throat and turn around. "This is going to be cold," she tells me right before she squeezes the sunscreen at the top of my shoulders.

"Not cold enough," I mumble, closing my eyes and trying to get my cock to go down, but then her hands are on me, and if that doesn't just make my cock harder, I don't know what will. She rubs in circles, and I close my eyes, counting to ten. I open my eyes when that doesn't help and look up at the sky.

"Okay, time for you to do me," she invites, and my eyes roll to the back of my head. Luckily, she is not facing me when I turn around. She ties her hair to the top of her head, and I put the cream in my hand as I rub it on her shoulders. I think about anything but the fact that I'm touching her. "That is good," she says when I spend more time on her than I should. She turns around and grabs the sunscreen. After putting some in her hand, she lifts her leg to put it on the couch and bends over to rub herself. I swear I'm going to come in my shorts like a teenaged little boy lusting over a Sears catalog.

"I'm going to go out," I tell her, hoping I can get into the water to cool off my dick. I find Simone and Davey out there and jump in the water without even talking to them. The water is crisp, but it doesn't last long. I stand in the water, and it reaches up to my chest. When I look up, I see her walking onto the back of the boat, and I have to stop for a second and take her in. She laughs with them, and my chest tightens. "Do you need help?" I ask, getting closer to the boat.

"I think I'll be okay," she assures me, avoiding looking at me, and I wonder if she saw my dick hard for her. Fuck, I should say something. "Davey explained how it works," she says, and I look at Davey, ready to throat punch him.

She gets on the paddleboard on her knees, and I hold it in place so she doesn't fall. "I got her," I tell Davey, who holds the back part. He looks up at me and lets go.

"I don't want to fall in," she says, and I look at her as I hand her the paddle.

"The best thing is to start on your knees." She reaches out to grab the paddle from me and shrieks when she tips over, falling onto me. I grab her around her waist before she falls into the water. "I got you," I say softly and she just looks at me, neither of us saying anything. She pushes away from me after a minute and then goes back on her knees, and she starts to paddle. "When you get your balance," I tell her as she goes around in a circle. "You can stand." I grab my own paddleboard and get on it. Davey hands me a paddle. When I stand on mine, I go slowly near her as she gets on her feet.

"I did it!” she exclaims with a huge smile, and I can't help but smile at her.

"You did," I say, and we paddle side by side the whole day, neither of us saying a word, and every time I want to say something, I shy away. We stop for lunch, and again, it's silence, and I fucking hate every second of it.

Only when she is finished, she gets up. "I'm going to go lie in the front," she says, and all I can do is nod my head instead of saying what is on my mind.

I lean back in the chair and grab a bottle of water, getting up and joining her in the front. She is lying on her back with her eyes closed. I stand over her to see if she'll open her eyes like she always used to, but she doesn't. I sit next to her, the whole time my finger moving up and down.

When we get back to the dock, Roberto is there waiting for us. "Welcome back," he says, holding a tray with drinks. She grabs one, and I grab the other, but she doesn't drink it. She hasn't touched anything but water all day. "How was the cruise?"

"Beautiful," she says, getting into the golf cart and sliding over for me. I sit next to her, the drink in one hand as I toss my shirt over my shoulder. "Nice and peaceful."

We get to the villa, and she gets out before me, walking inside. The cold air hits me right away and I close the door behind me. "I think I'm going to shower," she says over her shoulder. "Unless you wanted to?"

"I think we need to talk," I offer, and she stops in her tracks. "I hate that you're like this."

She looks at me. "Like what?"

"Like quiet and shit," I say, my words coming out like word vomit instead of me taking the time to think of the words I want to say and how I want to say them. "We have to talk about this morning and stuff." I wait for her to say something, anything, and she doesn't. "Okay, well, obviously I've always been attracted to you." I look at her face to see how she will react to the news.

Her eyes never leave mine. "Same," she admits to me. "But we were friends."

I put my hands on my hips now. "We kissed two years ago on New Year's Eve," I finally say. "And then a week later, you were dating Joe." I throw my hands up, and she just looks at me.

Her mouth hangs open in shock as she closes it and opens it again. "That wasn't you, that was Joe." She points at me, and I'm the one who is shocked.

"What are you talking about?" I say. "We were outside on the balcony and looking up at the stars. You giggled at me and started singing 'Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.'" I wait to see if the memory comes back to her. "You turned and threw your hands around my neck." I walk to her so frustrated that she doesn't remember the one moment in our relationship that I want her to remember. "Maybe this will help," I say, grabbing her face in my hands and lowering my lips to hers. My tongue slides out of my mouth into hers, and I taste the sweetness of her drink. My eyes want to stay open to watch hers, but I can't help but close them and be in the moment of this. My heart goes a million miles a minute as she kisses me back. Her hands go to my hips as I turn my head to the side, deepening the kiss. I wish I could say that it's as good as the one two years ago, but it's not. It's even better. It's a million times better. I let her go now, my hands falling from her face, and I wonder if I've ruined everything.

Her hands go to her lips, and she looks at me. "Oh my God," she whispers. "It was you?” she puts her hand on her forehead, “ All this time, it was you?"

My heart pounds in my ears as she stares at me. "Um, yeah."

Shelby

He lets go of my face, and all I can do is stand here, my body limp as my eyes flutter open and I see him in front of me. I try to find the word to describe what just happened. I'm trying to go through my whole dictionary of words that I have to make sure that I find the right words. But all I can do is say three words over and over again in my head, and then it just comes out. "Oh my God," I whisper, my fingers touching my lips that he just kissed, and if they didn't tingle, I would think it was all in my head. "It was you?" My head spins around this information. "All this time, it was you?"

He just stares at me, his chest going up and down. "Um, yeah."

"But . . ." I say, shaking my head. "But . . ." It's the only word I can say when I look at him as he stares at me. This man who became my best friend all those years ago while we studied in a little coffee shop where we drank more coffee than we should ever drink. The man who cheered me on when I said I was going to start our company. The man who I call whenever I have to talk things through, the man who I would protect with my life. "But he told me it was him."

Ace shakes his head, putting his hands on his hips. "Incredible. Obviously, he lied to you. No one is surprised there, especially after what happened."

I walk over to the couch and sit down. "I mean, he cheated on me." I look up at the ceiling, trying not to let the tears escape, and I'm surprised that no tears are threatening to come. Instead, what I'm filled with is anger that he fucking lied to me from the beginning. "Chances are, he's been lying to me for a long, long time." My heart speeds up in my chest as I ball my hands into fists beside myself. "Why was I so fucking stupid?" I wait for him to answer my question, but he doesn't. Instead, his feet move toward me.

It takes him two steps before he's in front of me, pushing the table out of the way so he can get on his knees in front of me. "Hey," he says softly. "Don't you ever say that. You trusting him does not make you stupid."

"It should," I reply. "This whole time, I thought the best kiss that I ever had was with Joe."

Ace smirks and then looks at me. "Wait, the best kiss you've ever had?" he asks, and I get up now.

"I need a minute," I tell him. "I'm going to go shower, and then you are going to go shower." I point at him. "And then we're going to talk about this."

He gets up and smirks at me. "You bet your ass we are going to talk about this."

My body shivers at his words. "I'm going to have lots of questions," I inform him, and he just smiles at me.

"I wouldn't expect anything less." I shake my head. "Oh, and I'm going to have lots of questions also."

I nod at him, turning and walking toward the bathroom and closing the door behind me. My head is still spinning, and I touch my lips again. That kiss was even better than the one I remembered vaguely. It was a kiss that I have been searching for, for the last two years. It was a kiss that I thought I made up in my head. It was a kiss that I remembered but couldn't see his face until today. Until he kissed me. "Ace," I whisper to myself and get into the shower. "How did I not know?" I ask myself. "How could you not remember?” Yes, I was drinking. Not only was it New Year's Eve but we had just closed the biggest contract we had ever signed. I grab the plush robe and slip it on, then wrap my hair up before walking out. I stop when I see Roberto there with Ace.

"That sounds like a plan," Ace says, walking toward me. "I need to shower because we have a talk to get to." He walks past me, and I hear the door close behind him.

"I'll get everything set up.” Roberto nods and walks out of the room with the walkie-talkie by his ear.

I don't waste time thinking about anything as I run to the closet and rummage through all the clothes I brought. "What is the least sexy thing you brought?" I pick up the white string thong with a piece of fabric that covers almost nothing. I put my feet through it, hoping that the string doesn’t twist and go into my skin. I grab the matching bra and a little white dress that molds to my every curve. Taking the towel off my head, I look outside to see Roberto setting up a table.

"We are almost finished, Mrs. Shelby." He smiles, and I just nod at him as the door to the bathroom opens, and Ace comes out. He is holding a white towel around his waist as he shakes his head side to side and then runs his hand through his hair, pushing it back. Whatever I was thinking in my head is gone, and the only thing I can do is look up at him up and down.

"What's going on outside?" I ask him, and he stops beside me. All I can smell is his body wash, and my mouth waters, thinking about the kiss.

"You like eating outside," he tells me. "So I told him to set up dinner outside." I turn my head to look at him, my mouth opening. "What?" he asks of my shocked look.

"Nothing," I say, shaking my head. "There is so much going through my head right now. I need a minute to process everything."

"Well, you get five minutes because this is happening as soon as I'm dressed," he informs me, walking over to the closet and grabbing an outfit.

He walks back into the bathroom, and Roberto comes to the open glass wall. "I'll be back with the food," he tells me, and all I can do is nod at him.

I take a step out of the bedroom as the sun is slowly going down, and there are lit candles all over the deck, giving you some light to walk. The sound of the waves hitting the stairs sounds like it's from one of the apps you find on the internet. The sounds of crickets also fill the air. The breeze goes through my hair, and I just take a second to take a deep breath.

I make my way to the table that Roberto was setting up at the far end of the deck. A white linen tablecloth covers the table and hangs to the ground. White chairs are set up facing the water. Little pink rose petals are scattered all around the table with two candle lanterns in the middle with a bouquet of pink flowers at the edge of the table. "At least it's not all white," I hear from behind me and look over to see Ace coming to me wearing blue shorts that are loose on him and a cream-colored long-sleeve shirt pushed up to the elbows with three open buttons at the top. You can see how his fingers went through his wet hair.

"It's not all white." I smirk at him. "And they used pink."

"They didn't have any peonies. I asked." He stops next to me.

"Why didn't you tell me it was you?" I don't wait for him to say anything to me or give him a warning that this talk will be starting a lot sooner than he probably thought it would.

"How did you not remember?" He counters my question, and I look up at him, his blue eyes looking darker in this light. But I now can see them clear as day in my head when I leaned into him. It's as if him telling me that it was him made the box of memories open and escape.

"I sort of did," I admit. "But then I thought it was just my imagination because, well, I've thought about kissing you for a long time, and then I came to see you the next day, and you didn't say anything." I tilt my head to the side; he has to take some blame for this.

"I thought you regretted it," he cuts in. "I kept asking you if you had a good time, and all you could do was nod and avoid my eyes." He puts his hands in the pockets of his shorts. "The question is, how did you think it was Joseph?"

"I ran into him two days later," I tell him. "He kept going on and on about what a great time he had and hoped that I did also. Then he said that he enjoyed New Year's Eve and spending it with me. So, I assumed that it was him, and well, I went out with him."

"Um, not to know any other details." He holds up one hand. "Because there are things I don't want to know, but didn't you notice how different the kiss was?"

"I did." I throw my hands in the air. "But then I thought it was all in my head and that all the champagne skewed it."

He takes a step forward. "Nothing about that kiss was skewed," he whispers, his hand coming up to hold my chin. "The kiss was everything I thought it would be and more." His eyes search mine as my heart speeds up tenfold. He bends his head, and my breath hitches as he comes closer. I'm waiting for him to kiss me, waiting for him to do anything, but all he does is rub his nose with mine. "That kiss was four years in the making, and in three minutes, it was done."

I laugh. "That doesn't bode well if it's over in three minutes," I joke, but his eyes don't leave mine.

"Shelby," he whispers, and right before he is going to kiss me, we hear voices coming closer and closer. Ace groans, letting my face go. "I'm going to do such a heated review on this place," he says through clenched teeth. "It's a honeymoon resort, and they are always popping up."

"Maybe it's a sign." I put my hand to my stomach to stop the way my stomach is fluttering. "Think about it, we kissed two years ago and then went on to date other people. We were going to marry other people." He just waits for me to finish my thoughts, knowing I need to get this out. "And that we are here on this island at a honeymoon resort, and every single time we are going to do anything, we are interrupted." I point at Roberto. "It might be a sign that we shouldn't go there."

"Or," he starts, smirking at me, "it's just giving us the time to come to terms with things because once it starts, it's not going to stop."

"Are we still talking about us?" I laugh anxiously.

"Shelby." He says my name clear as day. "The next time I kiss you." He looks over to see how close Roberto is. "I'm not going to stop. I don't care if the whole resort comes out to watch." He looks at me square in the eye, and all I can do is try to swallow, but my mouth is so dry that it takes a lot. "Take that as a sign."

Ace

She stands in front of me as she goes through the signs of why I shouldn't kiss her again, but every single thing in me is telling me that this is the moment. This right here, no matter how we got here, is our moment. "Shelby." I say her name. "The next time I kiss you." I take a second to look over and see how close Roberto is. "I'm not going to stop." My hands itch to touch her, and before I can even talk myself out of it, I reach up with one hand, rubbing her cheek with my thumb to calm her down. "I don't care if the whole resort comes out to watch." I look her straight in the eye, my palms getting sweaty as my heart speeds up. "Take that as a sign."

"But," she interjects, and my mouth just crashes down on hers. My tongue slides into her mouth just like it did before, and it's fucking perfection. Her hands go to my waist, and at that moment, I don't care who is around and who isn't. I hear the footsteps walking away from us and stop kissing her.

"Roberto," I say as he starts walking away. "I don't want to see anyone around this villa tonight."

He smiles and nods at me. "No problemo, Mr. Ace." He pushes the tray of food to us. "You serve yourself when you are ready." He looks at me and then at Shelby, winking at her.

"Oh my God," Shelby says. "Did he just wink at me because he thinks that?" She turns to me, and I don't give her a chance to think about anything. Instead, my hands come up to cup her face. "Ace," she says before my mouth falls onto hers. Her mouth opens for me without thinking twice, and this time, her arms wrap around my neck. One of my hands falls from her face as I wrap my arm around her waist, pulling her closer to me. She arches her back, and my hand goes down to her ass. My cock is ready for whatever action is going to come. "Ace," she says my name in a pant as I bend my head and kiss her neck. She pushes her chest into me, and it's my turn to moan.

"Shelby." I kiss down her neck. The arm around her waist picks her up, and I'm expecting to carry her inside. What I'm not expecting her to do is wrap her legs around my waist. "Fuck," I say as she leans back a bit so I can see her face. The wind blows some of her hair in her face, and she pushes it away with her hand and then shakes her head. My hand that isn't around her waist comes up, and I rub her bottom lip, my eyes searching hers, waiting for her to tell me that she's with me. I'm searching her eyes for her to tell me that she's okay with this.

She puts her hand on my cheek. "Ace." She smiles. "I don't know why you're stopping." She smirks. "Especially when we get interrupted so many times."

"Not this time," I declare, taking a step toward the bedroom. "This time, no one is going to interrupt us."

She leans forward, rubbing her nose with mine. "You promise." She leans forward and kisses me for the first time. Her tongue slides into my mouth, and just like the first time two years ago, my whole body comes alive. I walk into the bedroom and bypass it, going for the couch. Not wanting her to think I want anything more than just to have her in my arms. My hands go to her ass, and when I find it bare, I stop walking midstep. She stops kissing me when she realizes that I'm not walking. "What's the matter?"

"Umm," I say, my heart about to beat out of my chest. "My hands," I start to say, not sure what else to say. She looks over her shoulder trying to look at said hands and then looks back at me, not sure what is going on. "My hands are on your ass," I tell her, and she smirks at me and then tries not to laugh at me when I say the next words. "On your bare ass."

"Does my ass offend you?" she asks and then untangles her legs from my waist and stands in front of me. Her dress has ridden up to her stomach as she stands in front of me with the tiniest fucking panties I've seen in my life. I don't even think they can classify as panties. "You've seen me in a bathing suit," she reminds me, and she turns around, showing me her ass. And what a fucking ass it is.

"Before you had like, covering." I try not to drool at the sight of her, but all I want to do is get on my knees and bite it. "Now it's just." I have to close my eyes because the images of her leaning over are making my cock so hard there is no blood left for my brain.

"Should I cover it up?" She grabs the hem from around her stomach and moves her hips side to side, bringing the material down to cover herself.

"Stop," I say, stepping forward. "It's just going to ride up again." I smirk at her as she turns around.

"I mean, if it's just going to ride up again . . ." Crossing her arms around her waist, she grabs the dress and pulls it over her head.

If I was speechless before, I don't know what to call it now. She stands in front of me with the matching bra to the panties. Except the bra barely covers her nipples, the thin straps around her shoulders look like they are about to snap. "There, this is better." She grabs my hand in hers and turns to continue walking to the couch. "Don't you think?"

"Shelby.” I say her name between clenched teeth. "There is a fine line." I pull her to me. "That I've been holding since you came out in that fucking black-and-white bathing suit." I admit to her for the first time and to me as well, "I was lucky that the wave knocked me over because I think my tongue was going to touch the sand." She looks up at me, and the only light in the room is the soft light coming from the bedroom. "And it's about to snap." I pull her to me so she can feel how hard I am.

"Good," she says with a twinkle in her eye. "Because I’ve had some very inappropriate thoughts about you." She gets on her tippy-toes. "Thoughts that involve lots of skin and touching." She leans her head back and bites my jaw. "There is a little area," she says, and I just crash my mouth down on hers and pick her up. She lets go of my lips to laugh before framing my face with her hands. Her mouth comes back to mine as I walk to the couch and sit down. I definitely was not thinking this through when I did this.

She straddles my lap, her pussy lined up right on my covered cock that is feeling suffocated. "Ace," she moans my name as her hips move up and down. My hands go to her hips, and one moves up to the middle of her back, pulling her to me. Her head hangs back, and my hand moves up to grip the hair at the base of her neck. "Yes," she hisses when I pull her head back and bend to take her nipple in my mouth. My tongue dips between the lace of her bra and her nipple. Her nipple pebbles under my tongue, and I suck it. Her hips move up and down slowly, making sure that she rubs my whole covered shaft. "I need," she starts to say, and her hand reaches behind her to unclip her bra, giving me full access to her tits. I lean back a bit and look at the perfection that she is. Her tits are full, and my hand can't help but come up and palm it. I release her hair and lean back as my other hand grabs the other breast. My thumb and forefinger roll the nipples and then pull them.

Her eyes close as her hip movement starts to go a bit faster now. I can feel the heat from her pussy right on me, and if she continues doing this, I'm going to come in my pants, literally. I lean forward, taking the nipple back into my mouth, and this time, her hips move in a circle. My arm moves around her waist as I pick her up and turn her around. Her back is on the couch, her hair fanning across it. Her nipples are pebbled and asking to be bitten. "Shelby." I'm on my knees in the middle of her legs. "There is no going back," I inform her, waiting for her to tell me to stop. My heart is pounding so hard in my chest it echoes in my ears as the seconds feel like hours. My eyes stare into hers as she slowly sits up in front of me and kisses my neck, exactly where she can feel my heart.

"My heart," she says, her tongue coming out to lick my lips, "is beating as fast as yours." She then buries her face in my neck as she kisses me.

"Tell me what you want," I ask her. She stops moving, and my body goes still. I move away from her just a touch so I can see her face. My hand goes under her chin to make her look up at me. "Don't hide from me."

"But . . ." she starts to say and then swallows, and I know whatever she’s thinking, she’s embarrassed by it.

"Hey," I utter softly, moving more into her as her legs come up and lock around the base of my back. "No hiding."

"But," she says and then looks up at the ceiling and blinks her eyes. "It's just that."

"Shelby, if you want, we can put all the clothes back on and just lie together and talk," I tell her, and she gasps.

"No," she denies, almost shouting. "That is not what I want to do at all."

"So then?" I look at her.

"Ugh, fine." She rolls her eyes. "I want you to touch me."

My mouth goes into a smirk, and I can't help the smile that comes over me. "Really?" I ask her, and she nods. "Where?" I look into her eyes and bend down to kiss her lips, sliding my tongue into her mouth as she slides her tongue into mine. Around and around, our tongues dance together as she moves her head to the side as the kiss goes deeper. Her legs tighten around my waist. I let go of her lips, her chest rising and falling, and I bend, sucking in a nipple. "Tell me where, Shelby." I move from one nipple to the other.

"Ace," she moans my name, and it's the sexiest thing I've ever heard in my life. "I want you to touch me"—she pants—"everywhere."

Shelby

"Ace,” I moan out his name as he sucks one nipple deeper than the last nipple. "I want you to touch me"—I pant out—"everywhere." My head is going to explode with the anticipation of him touching me. His eyes go a deep blue after I say the words, and I'm afraid that I've upset him, and I want to cover myself up. Maybe I was too forward with him. I'm such a hussy is the only thing I can hear in my head. "But if you don't want to." I try not to sound hurt, but my voice doesn't hide anything.

"Lie back," he commands me. "And spread your legs for me." My stomach flutters, and my body moves to his command. I lie back on the cushions, and my legs drop from around his waist. His eyes never leave mine as I lie back and open them for him. "Fuck," he hisses right before his hands come to the little square white material in the middle of my legs. "You’re wet." His fingertips graze right over my clit, and I groan. Before, when I was straddling him, I thought I was going to come just from rubbing myself on him. My body is on fire for him, unlike I've ever been before. "Push your legs back," he says, his eyes on his fingers that rub my clit over the fabric. "I need to taste you." His fingers move the material to the side, and his mouth is on me. His tongue slides up my slit toward my clit in one long lick. "Good God," he says again as he licks back up, and then when he gets to my clit, he uses the tip of his tongue to go around in a soft slow circle. My legs open wider for him as he sucks my clit into his mouth.

"Ace.” I say his name frantically as my back arches off the couch.

"You want something?" he asks, looking up at me as he licks up and then around and repeating it two more times. "Tell me." He sucks my clit into his mouth as he watches me. My hips move up to get closer to him. My body feels like it's going to explode. "Tell me what you need." He sucks my pussy into his mouth, and my hands move over my head to the back of the couch.

I look into his eyes. "If you don't make me come," I pant out as his hot tongue slides inside me. "I'm going to ride your face until you make me come."

He smirks at me and kisses the side of my leg next to his head. "I'll make you come," he assures me. "You just have to tell me how you want it." He licks me softly. "Do you want it soft?" His tongue goes around in a circle in what feels like an eternity. "Or do you want it hard?" He nips at my clit and sucks it into his mouth.

"Fuck me." My body shivers.

"That's after, baby," he says. "Right now, I just need to know how you want me to make you come."

I can't even think as I watch him lick me up and down, taking his time. "Hard." That’s the only word I get out before he groans and slides two fingers into me. His other hand holds my leg up so he can get in there better. The tip of his tongue flicks my clit while he finger-fucks me with two fingers. Slamming into me over and over again while biting my clit and then flicking it. Every two pumps, he bites and then flicks. "I'm almost there." I don't think he is even listening to me because his mouth is too busy pushing me to the edge of the cliff. I let go of the couch and roll my nipples between my fingers, feeling it in the center of my core. My legs move on their own as I try to open wider for him, and then my hips start to move. "Ace,” I pant out his name as one of my hands goes to the back of his head, and I pull his hair. "Right there," I say as his finger fucks me, rubbing over my G-spot over and over again.

"I can't get enough," he admits, sucking my clit into his mouth, and all I can do is close my eyes when I feel myself come over his fingers and his tongue. "That's it," he says, moving his fingers even faster as I ride out the orgasm. And just when I think that I'm at the end of it, he bites down on my clit and presses on my G-spot, making me come again. I pull his hair and push him into my pussy. "That's it," he says, licking me. "I think you have one more in you." I move my head from side to side in slow motion as I come down from what has to be the best orgasm of my life. "Yes, you do," he says to me. "I can feel it in you."

"No," I refute, my hand falling from his head, and he chuckles.

"Your mouth says no." He moves his fingers in and out of me, turning them. "But your pussy." He sucks my clit into his mouth. "Your pussy is begging me to let her come again."

"Ace," I warn, my stomach getting tighter as he talks dirty to me. "No," I say, but my legs open wider for him. "I can't."

"Yes, you can. I can feel your pussy getting tighter," he says. "Watch." My eyes go to the middle of my legs as I watch his fingers fuck me.

"I've never watched before," I say, my eyes never moving from his fingers.

"You like it, don't you?” I don't know if he's asking me or telling me. "Your pussy is getting even wetter since you started watching me." He brings his other hand up, licking his thumb and then rubbing my clit in circles. "After, you're going to watch my cock fuck you," he states. "Over and over again." My legs start to shake, and I can feel the build-up again.

"I don't believe this," I say right before I come on his fingers for the third time in a row. I try to close my legs to get him to stop moving, but he doesn't. He goes on until my body is limp like an overcooked noodle. He kisses my inner thigh. "Are you a sex god?" The words come out of my mouth before I can stop them. "Like, did you take lessons and go to a special school?"

He moves over me now. "You make me lose my mind," he confesses, and I just roll my eyes. "Shelby." I look at him. "I've never wanted anyone the way I want you." My hand comes out to touch his stomach as he bends and kisses me. His tongue slides into my mouth as I taste myself on him. "Anyone."

I know that we will have to have a conversation later. I know that there are things we need to speak about. I know all this, but my body isn't listening to my head. "Why are you wearing so many clothes?" I ask him when I let go of his lips. My hand goes to the hem of his shirt. "We need to start taking off layers," I tell him. "So I can touch the places I've wanted to touch."

He moves away from me, taking his shirt off. "Where exactly do you want to touch me?" he asks with a smirk, and all I can do is sit up.

"This is done better if you are standing up." I smirk at him, and he stands up in front of me. "See, much better." I put my hands on his hips. "Except with your shorts, I saw a little bit more." My hands go to the button of his shorts. "I saw a little bit more." I unzip his shorts, and they fall to his ankles. I see the wet spot on his boxers. "I guess I wasn't the only one wet." I wink at him, and all he can do is look at me.

"I thought I was going to full-blown come in my pants," he discloses to me, and then he looks down at me when I put my hands on his hips. "Are you going to tell me where you thought about touching me?" he asks with a smile on his face, and I swear all I can do is smile at him. "You know what?" He shakes his head. "Better if you just show me."

I put my head back and laugh. "Well, I'm going to let you know," I start to tell him, ignoring the way my neck gets heated. "I'm not good at this." I avoid his eyes now. "So there is that."

"The fuck?” He steps out of my reach, and I look up at him. "What the actual fuck, Shelby?" I tilt my head to the side, not sure. "Why the hell would you say that?"

I take a deep inhale. "I've been told," I say, ignoring the way my leg starts to bounce nervously. "That I'm not the best at that."

He holds up his hand, stopping me from speaking. I'm waiting for him to give me a pity look, but instead, his eyes just lighten up. "I think it's better if you show me." He steps into my reach again. "So you were going to show me where you wanted to touch me."

"Well, I wanted to lick you all over, but . . ." I move his boxers down just a touch, showing me that side muscle I've thought about biting for the last two days. "This," I say, nipping at the side muscle. "This right here was it." I move to the other side. "But there was also another part of you I thought about."

"Is that so?" He looks down at me with his hand behind him as if he's offering himself to me on a platter.

My hands move his boxers over the tip of his cock, and I have to stop midway as I come face-to-face with his cock. "This is the nicest penis I've ever seen in all my life." My mouth says the words, and it doesn't even stop there. No, it continues on its destructive path of embarrassing myself. "That's from experience and also from porn movies."

"Um, one, thank you, I think," he says. "And two, later, after I've had you a couple of rounds, you and I are going to watch a movie together," he says, and I just look at him.

"Is that a fact?" I ask him, already anticipating it. "Will it be a play-by-play?"

"You bet your ass it will," he confirms, and I grip his cock in my hand and lick the tip. His jaw goes tight.

"Can you do me a favor?" I ask as I swallow the tip of his cock and taste his precum. I look up at him as I swallow a bit more of his cock. "Will you do me a favor?"

He blinks his eyes a couple of times. "I'm sorry, with your hand on my cock and my cock in your mouth, I don't even know what words I'm speaking right now."

I don't know why that sentence gives me the courage. "I need you to tell me what I'm doing wrong." I move my hand up as I take more of his cock into my mouth. "Can you do that?" I look up at him as I swirl my tongue around the head of his cock. "I just don't know how bad it is." I suck him as far back as I can take him, moving my hand at the same time as my mouth. "I mean, it's not like I don't like it." I try to take him a bit deeper, but I've never had anyone so big and so wide. "I love doing it," I say as my hand moves up and down his shaft. "It's sexy and . . ." I take him in my mouth. "Makes me wet."

"Shelby," he says my name with his jaw clenched. "For the love of God." He holds my head in his hands as he fucks my mouth. "I'm going to come down your throat in two more seconds."

My hand picks up speed, moving over his shaft all the way to the top, and then I lift my mouth off him. "Yes," I say, taking him back into my mouth and moving my hand up to play with his balls. "Come down my throat," I urge him, looking up at him. "Watch me." I slurp off his cock. "Watch me swallow your cum," I tell him, and he groans out my name.

"Shelby." He thrusts his hips as I swallow every last drop down. His hips stop thrusting into me as he looks down at me.

I release his cock, expecting it to go soft, but it doesn't, so my hand just keeps jerking it. "That was . . ." he says, trying to find the words, and I don't want him to lie to me.

"It was okay, right?" I ask, leaning forward and taking his cock again.

"It was more than all right," he assures me, and I stop moving.

"You don't have to lie to me, Ace." He reaches down and picks me up and all I can do is yelp.

"Trust me, Shelby," he says, looking into my eyes. "I will never ever lie to you." He kisses my lips. "Now I want you on the bed,”he rubs his nose with mine, “spread for me."

"Um, do you need a little bit of time to . . ." I cock my head to the side. "Recover." I look down at his still-hard cock, amazed. "I can start without you to get things going."

"I don't think you understood the words I said before," he says. "I've been dreaming about this moment for a long, long time."

Ace

I look down at her with my shorts around my legs, and my cock is still hard as a fucking rock. "I don't think you understood the words I said before," I tell her as she stands there in front of me, her eyes the lightest I've ever seen. "I've been dreaming about this moment for a long, long time." I kiss her lips. "I shouldn't admit this without it being a bit creepy." I think about not telling her, but it's Shelby. "You may or may not have starred in a couple of my dreams."

The smile that fills her face is everything. "Let's hope I live up to the hype." She turns and starts to walk to the bedroom. "Oh, might as well just take these off." She puts her hands in the strings by her sides, pushing them down over her hips and bending down in front of me, her pussy glistening in the soft light. She stands up and looks over her shoulder. "You coming?" she asks over her shoulder before she walks into the bedroom.

I shake my head and step out of my shorts and walk to her. Everything in me wants to touch her. "Oh, I'm going to come all right," I mumble as I walk to her, stopping by the closet and grabbing a box of condoms. I look over at the bed, and she's in the middle of the four-poster bed, her feet flat on the bed with her knees up as she waits for me. Her head is propped up by two pillows. "Now there is a sight I could never tire of," I say, tossing the box of condoms beside her.

She gets up on her elbows, her eyes shining bright, as she smiles at me. "What took you so long?" she asks, and I laugh, crawling on the bed in the middle of her legs.

"I stopped for provisions." I look over at the box of condoms.

"Oh, good call." She sits up in front of me. "Why don't you get the condom ready, and I can . . ." She grips my cock with her hand. "Keep my mouth busy." I watch her mouth swallow the tip of my cock, and I don't move. From the way she sucks my cock, I know she enjoys it just as much as I do.

"You keep that up," I hiss, grabbing a condom, "and I'm going to fuck your face again."

All she does is moan, and the vibration fills my whole body. "Okay, I need to get in you," I say finally, and she lets go of my cock with one last suck, then leans back on the bed, spreading her legs wide for me. She is so wet that I can't help bending down and taking one lick before putting the condom on. "I know you want it hard," I state, rubbing my cock up and down her slit. "And I want to give it to you hard." I look down at my cock as it aligns at her entrance. "I'm going to give it to you hard." I slip the head of my cock into her with a moan. I push her knees back at the same time my cock slowly slides into her. "But I want to take my time with you." My eyes look back at her and see her watching my cock.

"Okay." She moves her hips up, making my cock go deeper into her, and I slide in until my balls hit her ass. "Yes," she hisses.

She wraps her hands around her ankles, pulling her legs back to her head, and I lean down and take her mouth with mine. My tongue slides into her mouth as I thrust in and out of her. Our tongues roll as slow as my cock thrusts into her. She lets go of my lips to moan. "Ace," she pants out my name as I fall forward and put my elbows by her head. I fuck her as slow as I can, our lips hovering over each other. "So full," she says, and I know what she’s saying. She's so fucking tight, and with each thrust, she gets tighter, and my balls are starting to tighten. "I'm going to—"

"I know, baby." She closes her eyes and arches her back and moans, coming all over my cock. "I'm right behind you." My thrusts get shorter and harder, and as soon as she is done, I let go and fill the condom. "Shelby." I bury my face in her neck, and all she does is wrap herself around me.

"What is that sound?" Shelby mumbles from beside me. "Is that knocking?" I feel her sink into me closer.

The sound of knocking makes me open my eyes. "It is knocking," I confirm, squinting at the sunlight that is coming into the room. I'm on my back in the middle of the bed, Shelby is lying on my shoulder with her leg thrown over mine. The white sheet is tangled by our feet. "What time is it?" I ask, but she doesn't move to check. I look over to see that it's almost noon. I feel like we just went to bed, and we actually did. We spent the whole night naked going from room to room having sex. The last round was outside on the daybed right when the sun was coming up.

The knock sounds again. "Make them go away," Shelby says. "Ace," she moans my name, and my cock rises to the occasion.

"You have to get off me," I tell her, and she slowly peels her naked body from me, turning on her back. I get out of the bed as the knock comes again. "This fucking place is getting such a heated review from me," I mumble and look back when I hear her laughing. "I'm not even kidding. The email is going to go into detail about the number of times we were interrupted." I look around to grab a towel or something and see the trail of towels that we used from the pool to the bed. We didn't get too far. Once she bent over, it was game over.

"There is a robe in the bathroom behind the door," she mumbles as she grabs the white sheet and covers herself with it. "And can you order food?"

"We ate two hours ago." I wink at her.

"But we had sex for eight hours." She stretches her hands over her head. "I need protein." She looks at me. "You need protein."

I laugh, going to the bathroom and grabbing the robe, and then going to the door. Pulling it open, I see a woman standing there in the hotel uniform. "Good afternoon."

"Hi," I say, not sure what is going on when I see something over her shoulder.

"I'm here for the couples massage," she says, and my feet move to make me get out of the way as she walks in.

"Um," is the only thing I say.

"I will set up here, and then I will call you in." She puts down what I see is a folding table. "I need ten minutes."

I don't know what to say, so I walk into the bedroom, closing the door behind me. "Who is it?" Shelby asks.

"It's the couples massage," I whisper. "She's setting up."

"I could go for a massage," she discloses, getting on her elbow and the sheet falling off her. Her pebbled nipple taunts me. I walk to the bed, sitting down in front of her and bending to suck in her nipple.

"We have ten minutes." I twirl my tongue around her nipple, and she moans but pushes me away.

"We are not having sex with someone in the room," she hisses and scoots out of my way.

"I wasn't going to have sex with you." I fall on my back on the bed as she gets up and walks over to the closet naked. "I was going to snack."

She looks over her shoulder, and fuck if I don’t want to get inside her again. "You like the view?"

"I'd like it a bit more if you bent over a bit." She throws her head back and laughs as she grabs a robe hanging in the closet. She comes to me and kisses my lips softly before walking to the bathroom.

"Is it a girl or a guy?" she asks, sticking her head out of the bathroom.

"Girl," I say.

"Good, go put boxers on," she tells me, and I smirk at her.

"Is that so?" I joke with her, and she comes out and looks at me.

"I was thinking of going topless on the beach," she says.

I glare at her. "Enough said." Grabbing a pair of boxers, I put them on.

"Are we ready?" the lady asks, and we walk to the door with Shelby in front of me as she opens the door.

The lights are off, but there are candles lit everywhere, giving you a beautiful glow. Rose petals are scattered all around the one table in the room. "Where is the other bed?" I ask before Shelby does, and the girl laughs at me.

"Oh, it's not that type of massage," she says, looking at me and then at Shelby. "I'm going to be teaching you how to massage each other." She folds her hands together. "Please get on the table."

My mouth hangs open, and I look down at Shelby, who just tilts her head to the side. "You first."

Shelby

"Oh, it's not that type of massage," the woman with light blond hair says with a smile on her face. She looks at Ace. "I'm going to be teaching you how to massage each other." She folds her hands together. "Please get on the table." She points at the table, and I think my eyes are going to pop out of my head.

I look over at Ace, who stands there with his mouth hanging open, and I have to roll my lips when he looks down at me from the shock on his face. I tilt my head to the side. "You first." I push him toward the black table in the middle of the room.

"Um," he starts to say. "I don't know if we signed up for this exact massage." He looks at me. "What did you sign up for?"

"I don't know what it was called." I shrug. "I just saw massage and clicked yes."

"It's going to be fine," the lady says. "If you would undress and get under the sheet."

Ace is so out of his comfort zone, all I can do is giggle and then put my head down. "Okay, fine," he says, and I look up, seeing him start to untie the robe. My heart speeds up in my chest and rises to my throat.

"You can turn around." I look over at the girl, and my voice comes out tight. She smiles and turns around to face the door. I look at Ace, who just smirks at me, and I roll my eyes. "I'm doing it for you." I fold my arms over my chest, and all he can do is lean down and kiss my lips gently, making my body wake up for him.

He shrugs the robe off his shoulders, and he stands there in his white boxers with his cock perfectly outlined. "Like what you see?" he says, and I snap out of my daze and look up at him.

"Get on the table," I say. He walks over and slides under the white sheet, turning around on his stomach.

"Okay," I reply, and the girl turns around to look at him on the table and then at me.

"You can take off your robe so you can move better," she tells me, and I turn around, walking toward my discarded dress that I was wearing last night when I took it off. I slip the robe off and then slip the dress on. "Better."

I nod at her and walk to her side. "Okay, the first thing we are going to do is turn on some sensual music." She turns on the music, smiling at me. "Follow me," she says, and I walk over to the head of the table, looking down at his head. "Now you put both hands, palms down, on his shoulder blades." She shows me the way with her hands in the air. I put my hands on Ace’s back. "And press down gently a bit, one hand at a time." I do as I'm told. "Now, walk your hands down along his spine." I look down at my hands, picking one up and moving it down a touch. "Until you are at the base of his back. That is very good," she says once I get to the base of his back.

"Now open your hand," she instructs, and I do, and she squirts some warm oil in my hand. "Rub your hands together, and gently repeat the steps from before but going slower." I repeat what I just did. "Now, this time, when you get to the base of his back, smooth out to the side of him and with your fingertips trace it back up." I do what she says, and I can feel him shiver under my touch. "Once you get up, work down his shoulders and come back to his head." I focus my attention on his hair, very different than it was a couple of hours ago when I pulled at it while his mouth was buried between my legs. "Now repeat it three times." I do as she says, and then when it's the end of the third time, she smiles. "Now come to the right side of him." I walk, and she puts more oil in my hand. "This time, you are going to cup his hip." She puts her hand on mine as she cups his hip. "Now, when you slip your hand under, put pressure on your fingertips." She gives me instructions, and I don't know about Ace, but I'm so ready for him to fuck me. Touching him like this and the music, all I want to do is jump on the table and ride his cock.

"Okay, if you can turn over," she says, and Ace lifts his head and looks back at us.

"I would rather not right now," he says, and then I look at him confused.

"We need you to turn over so we can work on your front," she tells him, waiting for him to turn over.

"I don't need the front done," he assures her. "I'm good with just the back."

"Oh my God," I scoff. "It's not that big of a deal. Just turn over, Ace." He looks at me, and I know he's trying to tell me something, but for some reason, I have no idea what he's trying to say. "Just turn over."

"Fine, but don't say I didn't warn you." He turns on the table, the white sheet shifting a bit, and when he lies on his back, I look down to see his cock is awake. There is no mistaking that he's as hard as a rock.

"Oh my," I say.

"Are you happy now?" he asks through clenched teeth.

I laugh. "Not as happy as you are, apparently." I point at his cock.

"It's a totally normal thing," the girl starts to say. "Your lover is touching you with her hands."

"Make her stop," he mumbles to me, and I put my hand in front of my mouth.

"It's fine," I tell him and then turn to look at the woman who instructs me on what to do. I walk back up to the head of the table. She tells me to lean over him and rub the upper part of his chest, and when I do that, I can feel his hot breath on my nipple, and I can swear he tries to lean out and lick it.

I don't even know what she is telling me toward the end of the massage. My whole body is one tense nerve, and my pussy is wet and aching for him. "Now it's your turn." She looks at me, and I want to weep.

Ace swings his legs off the table and holds the sheet over his cock, and I don't know how he is doing. He was hard the whole time while he kept his eyes on me. I take off the dress and slip onto the table he was just on and assume the same position he did at the beginning.

He puts his hands on my back and slowly moves them down to the base of my back. He slips his fingertips under the sheet. He repeats it three times, and when he cups my hips, I want to lift a bit to get him to touch me. Fuck, at this point, I want him to touch me. Every single time with him was better than the one before, and that was hard to do since it skyrocketed each time. I've heard about sex that is out of this world, and I've tried to think about if I've ever had it. That was my first clue that I've never had it. If you have to think about it, it didn't happen. The sheet moves up my legs. He rubs his hand up one leg, starting at the ankle, and comes all the way up, grazing my pussy with his fingers. I almost moan, but I know that the girl is standing next to him, so instead, I bite my lip and close my eyes tight. He does the other leg, and this time my legs open just a touch more for him. It's on the third time when his fingertip slips in me. "Is the pressure okay?" he asks when he feels me shiver. "I can go lighter." He uses both hands on each leg, and when he gets up to my ass, he pushes up, and the sheet falls on the floor, leaving me naked. "It's fine," he says when he feels me starting to get up. "I'll get it when you turn over." I'm afraid to say anything because it's either going to come out in a pant or it's going to come out in a moan. His fingertips go up and down my leg, and every single time he gets closer to my pussy, I start to shake. One time, I almost lift my hips for him to slip a finger in me.

"Ace," I say, and it comes out shaky. "I think I'm good."

"Why do you say that?" he asks as he rubs his hand up the inner part of my leg. My breathing starts to come out in pants. I can't answer him because his finger slips in me for a second and then slips back out. "Do you trust me?"

"Yes," I say without hesitation.

"Okay, I want you to turn around but keep your eyes closed," he says, and I want to just get up off the table, tell the girl to get out, and beg him to fuck my brains out. "Can you do that for me?"

"What do I get in return?" I ask him, and he leans down beside my head.

"I’ll spend most of the day making you come," he whispers, and I'm not about to say no to that.

"Fine," I huff like it's not going to be the best time ever.

"No peeking," he warns as I turn over, not even caring that I'm lying naked on a massage table in front of a woman I just met. I mean, it's a honeymoon resort. I'm sure she's seen worse.

"Now I know this is going to be hard for you." He knows that if it was anyone else, I would have opened my eyes already, but I know that with him, I'm safe. "They say when you close your eyes, your other senses start to work extra." His voice is soft, and something warm is being poured down the center of my body. "It's oil," he tells me without me asking him. He stops pouring the oil right before my pubic area. Going right above and then rubbing all the way up to my chest. He rubs his hands down my arms before he comes back up to my shoulders and rubs my tits. My eyes remain shut as he massages the oil into them. My nipples ache to be pinched. He moves his hands down, my nipples getting pinched by him closing his fingers three times.

I can't help but moan. "Ace."

"It's okay," he says softly, moving his hand down the middle of my chest. My heart is beating so fast I'm sure he's going to feel it. I'm hoping that he just keeps going down the middle, but his hands go to the side of my hips and to my groin and squeeze coming up. My pussy lips are pushed together. He repeats it twice, and then when he comes back to the side, he moves my pussy from right to left. My legs open a touch, hoping he can see. All I can do is feel his fingers on me, and my breathing is erratic. I open my mouth, letting a little moan come out as he gets closer and closer to my clit. Then it happens. He slides his hands down the front of my pussy, his oiled finger slipping between my lips and into me. But only for a second before he removes it. He comes back again a second later, slipping his finger back in me.

"More," I huff without opening my eyes and wondering if this woman is watching me get fingered by him. "Ace?"

"It's just you and me," he says in a whisper, and I wish I could ask him all the questions, but my whole body is tense. I've never been this turned on in my life, ever. This time when he slips his finger into me, he moves it in and out quickly five times. "Don't move your legs," he says right before I'm about to open them wide to give him more access. He moves his finger out of me and then comes back, fingering me again. He moves his hands off of me, and I groan for a second before I feel the warm oil pour down my stomach and right down the center of my pussy. He rubs the oil into me, moving from on top of my head to the side of me, making his way down to my feet. He rubs his hands up my legs with his fingertips until he gets to my pussy where he uses his thumb to rub over my clit twice.

"I don't think I can." Words are at a loss for me when his thumb moves over my clit in a circle, my hand gripping the white sheet on the table. He moves his thumb faster and faster, and I finally give up, opening my eyes and looking up at him. His blue eyes shine bright as he plays with me. I get on my elbows, my eyes never leaving his as he slides his thumb into me, and I pant, needing release. "More," I tell him, and then I close my legs, stopping him from moving. "Come here."

"I want to do this just for you." His finger slips out of me and goes to my clit, then he slides two fingers in me. "You are so wet for me."

"Yes." I close my eyes and take in his fingers. "Ace.” I say his name and he looks at me. "I want to suck your cock while you massage me." I have never been this open about sex. He walks to the side of me, and I see his cock waiting for me. He pulls down his boxers, and I grip the shaft bringing it to my mouth. His hand goes back to teasing me, slipping into me for a second and then coming out. "Why are you teasing me?" I ask, letting go of his cock for a second before taking him back down my throat. He slides his fingers into me and then pulls away from me. "Come back," I say when he walks into the bedroom.

He walks back to me now, rolling a condom down on his cock. "I want you to stand," he says. "Put a knee on the table and bend over." I don't even have to be asked twice. The only thing I hope is that my legs are strong enough to hold me up. The minute my leg goes up, he fills me in one thrust. "So fucking tight." He pulls out and slams into me again, and I come just like that all over his cock. His thrusts are short and hard until I'm done, and then he pulls out again to the tip of his cock before slamming into me over and over again.

"Yes!" I hold on to the table as he fucks me harder than he's ever fucked me before. He holds my hips while he slams into me over and over again. It doesn't take long before I'm right back going over that cliff. "I'm there."

"Me, too," he says, and when I come this time, he grips me even tighter by the hips and moans out my name.

And it's music to my ears.

Ace

I close my eyes and try to catch my breath, looking down at her back as she collapses on the massage table. "I . . ."

"Yeah," I say, laughing as I fall on top of her, and I need a minute. "That was." I kiss her shoulder. "That was."

"I need a shower," she says. "With all this oil on me, I feel like a wrestler." She laughs, and I slide out of her but immediately want to be back inside her. She stands up, and I put my hands on her face for a kiss. Her tongue slides into my mouth as she presses her front to me. My cock that was starting to go down is up and ready for another round. "There is no way we can shower together."

"You're right," I admit. "Why don't you go shower, and then I'll go after you."

"Okay." She slips her hand in mine. "But if I need you to wash my back, should I call you?"

"Shelby," I groan. She lets go of my hand and walks to the bathroom, and I follow her. I get rid of the condom at the same time she steps into the shower. I walk out of the room, going to the phone and picking it up, pressing zero.

Roberto answers right away. "Hello, Mr. Ace."

"Hi, is it possible to get some lunch set up for us outside on the deck?" I ask, looking around the room. "And for someone to come and clear out the massage table."

"No problem. It'll be done in fifteen minutes," he says, and I look back at the bathroom door.

"We will be in the bath, so you can come in," I say and hang up the phone. I walk over to the closet and grab a pair of shorts for me and what looks like a one-piece dress for her.

I walk back into the bathroom, seeing her with her head back as the water cascades around her. She’s fucking stunning. "I just ordered lunch," I tell her, and she looks over at me. "I brought you a dress." I walk over and pull open the shower door.

"You can't come in here." She shakes her head, and I laugh. "It'll just end up with us having sex."

I ignore what she says as I step into the shower, wrapping my hands around her from the back, my hands going to cup her tits. "What's wrong with that?"

"Ace," she moans my name, and I bend to kiss her neck, letting her go.

"I'm letting you go because they are coming to clear out the table and shit, and the last thing I want them to do is hear you moan," I tell her, and she laughs.

"I'm not going to lie. When you started giving me the massage, I was about to crawl out of my skin." She shakes her head. "When did the lady leave?"

"As soon as you got on the table," I inform her, and her mouth hangs open.

"I didn't hear you tell her anything," she tells me, and I laugh.

"It was the universal motion with my chin to get the fuck out of here." I show her what I did, and she throws her head back and laughs. "She just smirked at me and nodded her head, then walked out without making a sound. I thought for sure you heard her when she closed the door behind her. But you just stayed with your head down." I shake my head.

"It was fucking torture," she says. "I almost opened my legs and got on my hands and knees."

"I swear to God, my cock was going to explode, and the last thing I wanted was for her to look down and see me closing my eyes and trying to count to ten." I shake my head.

She gets out before me, and I finish washing myself while she dries her hair. She puts on the pink dress, and I stop drying myself. The back hangs low until her ass crack, but it's more than that I can see her ass. "It's see-through," I tell her, and she turns around, and I see the front hangs low, and I see her perk nipples.

"It's not see-through." She looks down at herself. "It's like an illusion."

"Is that what we are calling see-through these days?" I drop my towel and slide into my shorts.

She shakes her head and walks out of the bathroom door seeing everything gone. The only thing that is still there are the rose petals. We walk to the back of the deck and find a table set up right under an umbrella. "I'm starving," she says, slipping her hand in mine as we walk out of the room toward the table. Roberto is right there pushing a cart of food toward the table. "Right on time." She smiles as I pull out a chair for her to sit down. She grabs the mimosa and finishes it. "I'm parched." She winks at me. "After that workout."

I shake my head as Roberto puts fruit on the table, followed by burgers, chicken, some grilled fish, and veggies. "I'll be back with dessert," he says to us, walking away while Shelby grabs the bottle of champagne from the ice bucket beside her and pours some more into a glass, followed by orange juice.

"We should talk," she says, and I have to smirk at her as I grab a burger and put it on her plate. It was only a matter of time before she would have to talk about it. I knew it was coming.

"We should. A lot has happened in the last couple of days," I say, grabbing my own burger.

"A lot has happened," she agrees, taking a bite of her burger while I grab a bottle of beer from a cooler beside me. I twist open the top and take a pull of it.

"Where should we start?" I ask her. "I would like to start at the obvious." She looks at me. "We had sex."

"We did," she confirms and reaches for another drink.

"And that makes you nervous?" Her hand stops midway to her mouth, and she just looks at me. I laugh.

"It doesn't make me nervous." She puts the glass down. "It makes me . . ." She tries to think of the word.

"It makes you uneasy, which is the same thing as nervous." I take a bite of my burger.

"Okay, fine," she admits finally, and she looks at me. Her blue eyes are lighter than I've ever seen before. Her face is tanned just a touch from the last two days in the sun. Her hair is blowing in the wind; she is just perfect. "I'm nervous about it."

"Why are you nervous?" I ask her, and she leans back in her chair, and my eyes go to her nipples that are pointing out of her dress.

She looks down and sees what I'm staring at, but she doesn't move. Instead, she meets my question with her own. "Are you not nervous?"

"No," I admit honestly. "But I've thought about having sex with you before." I bring the beer to my lips. "So"—I shrug—"I'm not nervous."

"That doesn't mean shit," she says, grabbing my bottle of beer and taking a pull from it. "Thinking about it and doing it are two different things."

"Yeah, you’re right about that." I laugh. "Doing it was a million times better than it was in my head." She just smiles shyly and looks down at her plate. "Why are you hiding from me?"

She looks up at me, and I can see she's trying to tell me something. "How about we make it that this conversation is a one-time conversation, and whatever is said during this time stays here?”

She puts her elbows on the table and folds her hands together. "That works," she says, and I wait for her to say what she has to say. "And if you don't mind, I'd like to just get it all out, so if you have anything you have to say, I ask that you wait until after." I nod at her for her to go, not sure what she is going to say. I definitely know that I was not ready for what she was going to say. "I like sex," she says, and I smirk at her. "Like a lot, but I haven't been having sex a lot because, well, apparently I wasn't the only one having sex with him. He was never in the mood, and well, you can only be turned down so many times before you just stop asking." My stomach burns as the knots start to form and then anger sets in. "I was also not open with how much I wanted to have sex nor did I ask for things. I know that I'm not that good at some things."

This is when I've had enough of her talking and hold up my hand. "I know you said not to interrupt you, but I'm not going to let you say shit that isn't true." I look into her eyes. "One." I hold up a finger. "Whatever you think you're not good at, I'm here to tell you that you’re right." I see her face drop. "You're not good at it. You're out of this fucking world."

"You're just saying that so I will suck your dick again." She rolls her eyes.

"Okay, first off, you love to suck my dick just as much as I love you to suck it, so don't even try to tell me that you do it just for me." I laugh, getting up, walking over to her and holding out my hand to her. She grabs my hand and I walk us over to a couch right near the table in the shade. I sit down, and when she is going to sit next to me, I stop her and pull her on my lap. "Shelby.” I say her name and can't help but lean forward and kiss her shoulder. "I like having sex with you." I don't use the love word because I know it will freak her out. "I really like it. Like more than I've ever liked it in my life." Sex with her has been on another level.

"I like having sex with you," she says. "I don't know if it's right or wrong." She turns in my lap as she straddles my thighs. My hands go to her legs and rub them.

"I don't want to stop," I tell her, afraid she’s going to want something else, knowing that if she says she wants to stop, it's going to be the hardest thing for me to do. Being next to her and not being able to touch her, especially after last night and this morning.

"Me either," she agrees, her voice soft, and she puts her forehead on mine.

"So how about while we are here, we just enjoy it?” I kiss her lips.

She puts her hands on my chest, and one of the straps from her shoulder falls down. "So what happens on the island stays on the island?" she asks, and her strap falls over her nipple.

My thumb comes up to rub her nipple. "On one condition," I tell her, and she looks at me, waiting. "Don't hide from me.” I lean down and take the nipple into my mouth. “You want me to touch you a certain way, you tell me." I nip at her nipple now. "You want me to do more, you tell me."

"Okay," she almost pants. "But it goes both ways."

I look at her. "Deal." I look around, seeing that no one is around. "I want you to ride me." I push down the other side of her strap, taking the other nipple in my mouth.

"God," she says. "I thought you'd never ask." She moves her dress up and looks at me. "Did you bring a condom?"

"No," I say. "Why would I bring a condom with me? We were supposed to be eating lunch." I move her to the side. "Don't move," I tell her, kissing her lips and rushing to grab a box of condoms. I rush back over and grab her, bringing her back onto my lap. "Now, where were we?" I grab her face in mine, and she smiles right before I take her lips and slide my tongue into her mouth.

"We are never going to make it out of here," she says from in front of me as she moves her head to give me more access to her neck.

"It's not my fault you look fucking sexy every single time I look over at you." I look in the mirror at us. The both of us are tanned after six days of lounging in the sun. The last four have been us just lounging in the pool or the ocean right outside our door.

"We can't be late," she warns me, turning in my arms but never moving far away from me. "One last kiss," she says, letting my tongue slide into her mouth as she wraps her arms around my neck. My hands grip her covered ass before letting her go and looking down at her dress. This time, it's a black one that plunges down to her stomach. It’s tied around her neck, and her back is open. The dress falls to the floor, but when she walks, all you see is her long, lean legs. "You're going to ruin this dress, too, aren't you?" For the past four nights, every single outfit of hers I've torn off of her.

I smirk at her, grabbing her hand. "I haven't decided yet," I say, walking out of the room and down toward the main beach. We are having our last dinner on the beach, and both of us have been unusually quiet as our time on the island is coming to an end.

"I don't think I've seen you so dressed." She looks over at me. I'm wearing dark gray dress pants with a light gray button-down shirt with the sleeves folded up to my elbows. "I'm not sure I like it."

I'm about to say something about when we get back home, but Roberto is there waiting for us. He ushers us to the private table in the middle of the beach. We don't talk that much during dinner. We throw a couple of jokes out there, and she laughs as she drinks champagne, and I know it's because she's trying to think about what is going to happen. When we finish dinner, I kick off my shoes and hold my hand out to her. "Let's walk back to the villa by the beach," I suggest, and she kicks off her shoes. I look over at Roberto, who nods and comes over to grab our shoes. We walk down the beach. "What are you thinking?" I ask as my own nerves are in my stomach.

"It's going to be weird tomorrow," she says softly as we walk slowly down the beach.

"Why is that?" Looking over at her, I wait for her to give me a little sign that she wants more of this. That she will continue this when we get home.

"Well, for one, I've woken up the past four days with a face between my legs," she says, and I gasp.

"You were the one who woke up with a mouthful this morning," I tell her, and she throws her head back.

"It's not my fault," she gasps and stops walking. "He winked at me."

I bring her to me and laugh. "He winked at you," I tease, and she laughs and leans her face up. I want to make her laugh all the time. I want to be the one who makes her laugh. I look down at her, taking her mouth and telling her, "I think I see him winking at you right now."

Shelby

"Yess,” I hiss, holding Ace's shoulders as I ride his cock as he sits with his back against the headboard. Both his hands roll my nipples as he lets me do all the work. "I'm right there."

"I know," he says as I pick up my speed, and his hands go to my hips. My tits bounce up and down as I pick up speed. He leans down and grazes my nipple with his teeth. Making me moan and move even faster. I wanted to take my time this morning, especially since it will probably be the last time I'm with him. I throw my head back and finally let go with his name on my lips. His hands go to my hips as he thrusts his hips up and grunts out my name. I collapse on his chest, burying my face in his neck as we both try to get our breathing under control. "We have to get up," he says softly, bending to kiss my bare shoulder.

I don't say anything to him because there is a sudden lump in my throat, and I'm afraid that if I speak, it'll come out in a sob. We didn't sleep all night, both of us aware of our looming deadline to whatever we wanted to call this. Neither of us wanted the night to end, both of us not really speaking. "I'm going to head to the shower and finish packing when I get out." I nod my head, getting off him. I sit on the bed while he walks into the bathroom, my eyes on the two bags of luggage open on the floor. "It'll be fine," I tell myself, walking to the closet and packing the rest of my things.

One hour later, I'm zipping up my luggage when the knock on the door fills the silent room. Roberto comes in to grab our suitcases as I stand next to Ace. I take one more look around the room before walking out to the waiting golf cart. The ride to the airport is not much more. I sit in the back of the car, looking out my window with his arm around my shoulders, his thumb rubbing my arm, while my hand is draped on his knee.

I smile when I need to smile and only talk when he asks something. When they call for us to board the plane, I get up, grabbing my bag next to me. "Next stop home," I state, and he gets up, and I look at him. He's wearing his blue shorts with a white short-sleeve T-shirt. His eyes are crystal blue, just like the water we spent the week in.

We walk outside to the tarmac, and my hand slips into his so easily I don't even realize I'm doing it. We walk up the stainless-steel stairs side by side, and the flight attendant smiles at us when we get to the door of the plane. He lets my hand go to put it at the base of my back as he waits for me to walk in before him. "Do you want the window seat?" I look over my shoulder and ask him, and he shakes his head.

I scoot over when we get to our seats, tucking my bag under the seat in front of me. The attendant comes over when Ace takes his seat and asks us what we would like to drink. The both of us answer water and then laugh. I lean over and kiss him on the lips, and it is really sinking in that I won't be able to do that either when we get home. My head is telling me that it's okay since I got to kiss him all week long. We spent yesterday afternoon in the ocean in front of the villa. With my legs wrapped around his waist, we kissed for most of the afternoon.

I look out of the plane as my nerves start getting the best of me. My leg moves up and down, and he reaches over and grabs my hand in his. I look over in time to see him bring our joined hands to his lips where he kisses my fingers. "It's going to be okay." I don't answer him. Instead, I just look out the window as people start filling the plane. The captain comes out, and I close my eyes and lay my head back on the headrest when the plane starts to move.

"Shelby." I open my eyes, looking over at him. He leans onto the middle armrest. "What was your favorite part of this week?" His eyes turn just a touch darker.

"Um." I start to think. "There are lots of times actually." His hand comes up to my cheek as his thumb rubs my lips. "I don't know if I can pinpoint just one," I say, ignoring the way my heart is pounding in my chest, also knowing that it has nothing to do with the plane moving but everything to do with the man next to me. "What about you?"

"That's easy," he says. "You finding out that it was me who kissed you two years ago."

"Ace." I say his name, and he comes in and kisses my lips. His tongue slips into my mouth, and just like every other time, it's better than I remembered. I could spend hours just kissing him, and during this whole week, I have. He lets go of my lips now. "We're in the air."

I gasp and look out the window seeing the white clouds. "You kissed me to distract me?"

"No." He shakes his head. "I kissed you because it's my second-favorite thing to do with my mouth." I tilt my head to the side.

"Do I want to know what the first thing is?" I ask him, laughing.

He looks around. "I wish I could show you," he says, leaning his head back on the headrest. The smile on his face makes his eyes go even lighter, and I lean in for one more kiss before turning and looking out the window.

The flight goes by in record time. The whole time, my stomach is getting tighter and tighter while the pressure makes me feel like I can't breathe. The plane stops, and the seat belt sign goes off, and everyone starts to stand. I grab my bag as I get up and stand, waiting for the people to start moving. He smiles at me and leans forward, and I take one last kiss from him. He makes me pass in front of him, and I smile at the attendant on my way out. His hand finds mine, and I look down, knowing I should say something. “Ace,” I start to say to him as we walk toward the baggage claim.

“There she is.” I hear my sisters’ voices and slip my hand out of his. He looks down for a second at his empty hand and then looks ahead. I want to stop him from walking so fast away from me and tell him maybe we should talk. But all I hear is my sisters’ voices. "The not-newlyweds." I look up and see that my sisters are there with a huge sign that says:

Mr. & Mrs. Baker.

I laugh and look at Ace, who doesn't look at me, and I can feel his walls are up. "Hey," I greet when we get close enough to my sisters.

Clarabella comes over to me. "Shit, getting left at the altar agrees with you," she says, kissing my cheek, and I look over to see Presley give Ace a hug as she jokes with him. "You look amazing."

"It's the tan," I mumble and look over to see if I can catch Ace's eyes, but Clarabella is switching sides with Presley to hug him.

"You look," Presley says, looking at me, and she searches my eyes. "I don't know what that look is," she says, laughing, and hugs me. It's the look of a properly fucked woman who is wondering how she can prolong this without trying to sound needy.

"I'll go get the bags," Ace says, walking away from us, and I want to follow him and go with him.

"I'm going to go help him," I state, and my sisters laugh.

"I think he can handle two suitcases," Clarabella says. "Besides, we want to hear all about your week."

"Yeah," Presley agrees, and all I can do is watch Ace wait for the bags. The smile that was on his face the whole week is gone. "You didn't text us after that first day. Um, hello, Shelby," she says, and I look over at her.

"I'm sorry, what?" I ask.

"What the hell did you do all week?" Clarabella quizzes, folding her arms over her chest. "You went radio silent."

"I was on vacation," I remind her, trying not to look at her in case she can see all the memories replaying in my head.

"Here you go." I hear Ace, and for the first time today, he doesn't lean over and kiss me.

"Thank you," I mumble as I try to catch his attention.

"Ladies." He smiles at my sisters. "It was a pleasure." He smirks at them and then finally turns to look at me. "Shelby, thanks for the week."

"Was she a buzzkill?" Presley asks, looking at him, and he looks down at his feet and then looks up again, looking straight at me with a soft smile on his face.

"She was perfect," he replies, and I can't help the smile that comes on my face. "I'll see you guys around," he says, grabbing his luggage and walking away from us. I watch him go even though the whole time, I want to yell at him to stop, but I don't do anything but follow my sisters out. The two of them are telling me what I missed, but the whole time, I try looking around to see if he's around here somewhere.

I don't say anything on the ride back to my house. Instead, I look out of the window and wonder where my phone is. I get home and walk into the house, stopping when I see that the picture of Joseph and me is gone. I look around the family room seeing his magazines are gone. Walking to the kitchen I see everything that he touched or would look like it belonged to him is gone. "Who cleaned out my house?" I look over at Clarabella, who is huffing up the steps trying to get the luggage into the house.

"Did you bring bricks with you?" she asks, stopping to take a breath. "How is it that your luggage is a million pounds when all you packed is skanky-ass clothes?"

"I forgot about the clothes," Presley says, laughing as she walks to the fridge and grabs something to drink. "What did Ace say when he saw you in those ho clothes?"

"He didn't say anything," I mumble, looking around and wondering if they are going to be here long.

"Was Joseph the one who cleaned up his stuff?" I ask, and they laugh.

"Are you kidding?" Clarabella says. "Mom came in with a brown box, and anything that didn't look like you bought it, she tossed in the box." I look at her with my mouth open now. "Then she dropped it off on his front porch."

"She did not," I say, walking over to my purse and getting my phone. Seeing it's dead, I walk over to the counter and plug it in.

"She did," Presley confirms. "And she wrote dickhead on the box." She laughs. "It's my new screen saver."

I look at the time on the stove and then turn to look at my sisters. "I'm tired," I tell them, hoping that they don't see me lying.

"You were on vacation for a week," Clarabella points out, folding her arms over her chest. "Seven days."

"Yeah," Presley says, leaning against the counter. "Besides drinking and passing out, what else did you do?"

"We didn't do anything," I gasp. "It was two friends on vacation." I look over at them. "I'm going to start my laundry."

"Well, this is fun," Clarabella says. "But I can tell when you are trying to get rid of us."

"I told you she was going to be like this," Presley claims. "I told her to let you Uber home by yourself and make you think we didn't care. But no." She glares at Clarabella. "We had to be supportive."

"Thank you guys so much." I look at them. "It's just I'm . . ." I don't even know what to say.

"We get it," Clarabella says. "It's hard being home without seeing Joseph's stuff, and you have to settle in."

"Yes," I agree, not telling her that I didn't think about Joseph once since I kissed Ace.

"Well, listen, you call us if you are feeling down," Presley says. "All you have to do is call Clarabella, and she's going to rush over here." I laugh as they argue out of the house.

I wait for their car to be gone before running to the kitchen and grabbing my phone. I'm powering it on when the doorbell rings. "Fucking hell," I say to myself, walking to the door while trying to get Ace's number to come up. "What did you forget?" I pull open the door, expecting to find one of my sisters there, but instead, he stands there with his head down and when he looks up, all I can do is smile. "Ace."

Ace

I jog up the steps and press the button to the doorbell. I look around to make sure that her sisters are gone. I hear her footsteps coming closer to the door, and my heart speeds up even more. I look down to tell myself that it's fine being here. We are best friends, I remind myself. "What did you forget?" she asks when she pulls the door open, and I look up at her, and all she can do is smile, which makes me smile. "Ace." The pain that I had in my chest is gone with one look at her. "What are you doing here?" she asks, and I wait for her to move aside so I can go in.

"I was waiting for your sisters to leave," I tell her so she knows I've been here a while. The minute I pulled up to my house, I turned right back around and headed for her. I had no other plan but to talk to her.

"Well, they just left," she says finally and moves away and I step in.

"I know. I was waiting down the block for them to leave," I reply, and she looks over at me, her eyes opening wide. "I felt like I was on a stakeout." I laugh awkwardly as she walks to the kitchen, and I follow her. I've been here so many times, but this time, it feels like I'm in uncharted territory, and maybe I am. I stand in front of the island while she goes to the fridge. "Listen," I say when she opens the fridge and grabs me a water bottle. "Sorry, that came out a lot harsher than I wanted it to." She hands me the bottle of water, and I grab it but put it on the counter. "I know that we said that what happens on the island stays on the island."

"But," she cuts in, coming around to my side of the counter.

I think of how to say the next part so I don’t scare her away, but instead, all that comes out of my mouth is, "I'm still on island time."

She smirks at me, coming even closer to me. "Is that so?" This right here is the Shelby that I want. Not the Shelby who was quiet and scared to say anything. I want the Shelby who isn't shy around me. I want the Shelby who comes up to me and kisses me just because she wants to.

My hands come up to push the hair away from her face, tucking it behind her ears. "That is so." My heart speeds up, and it feels like it's going to come out of my chest.

"Isn't that a coincidence." She tilts her head to the side and looks up at me. She literally takes my breath away. "So am I."

That’s the last thing she says before I slam my mouth down on hers. It's been about two hours since the last time I kissed her, but it feels like an eternity. I wrap my arms around her waist and pick her up. Her legs wrap around my waist, and she wraps her arms around my neck, and instead of walking to the bedroom, I just put her ass on the counter. Her hands are on my shirt, pulling it up, while I leave her lips to kiss down her neck. Our hands fly everywhere in order to get us naked. Her shirt is almost ripped off her, while her hands are on the button of my pants. My cock is dying to get out and into her, my mouth salivating to taste her even for a minute.

"Condom," she pants, and I stop moving.

"I don't have any," I state, and she just looks at me. "Why the fuck would I have condoms?"

"Don't you carry them in your wallet?" She glares at me, and I'm glaring back at her.

"Why the fuck would I carry them in my wallet?" I ask her. My cock cries out at the thought of not being inside her.

"You're a guy," she says, and I just stare at her. "Why aren't you ready for any situation?"

"Because," I say, stepping away from her. "I'm an adult, and I don't do random hookups."

"Hmm," she says, looking at me. "Interesting."

"Why is that interesting?" I ask her. "You've known me forever. How many times have I banged someone in the bathroom?"

"Never," she confirms in almost a whisper. "Oh, I think I have condoms," she says, clapping her hands and getting off the counter to run to her bathroom. I watch her run up the stairs, and all I can hear is, "Motherfucker." Then she comes down the stairs. "My mother threw them out." I try not to laugh, but I can't help it. "It's not funny. She went through the house and threw out everything she thought was Joseph’s." She holds up her finger and runs for her phone. "We can order them."

"We are not ordering condoms, Shelby." I put my hands on my hips. "I can run out and buy them." I reach for my shirt, and she cocks her hip.

"I'm on birth control," she says, and I stop moving. "And, well, Joseph always used one because he didn't want to take a chance of me getting pregnant." She looks down at her hands. "I mean, I guess I should thank him for that.”

“Not a fan of talking about Joseph when you’re naked,” I grumble between clenched teeth. “I mean, I know you two had sex, but I don't want to talk about it."

"What about you?" She looks at me, and I roll my eyes.

"Think about that question again," I tell her, and she just stares at me. "It would be irresponsible."

"Right." She walks to me and gets on her tippy-toes, kissing under my chin. "I mean, there are lots of things we can do without a condom." Her tongue comes out, licking down my neck, and then stops. "Oh my God," she says, turning around and running to the front door. She throws her luggage down and unzips it.

"What in the world are you doing?" I look at her as she starts to throw things out of her luggage.

"I was picking up my stuff," she huffs, getting her toiletry bag. "And I picked up . . ." She zips open her bag and pulls out the sleeve of condoms. She throws her hands up in the air like she just made a touchdown. "These and was too lazy to take them out." She gets up. "Now, where were we." I can't help but laugh at her. "I think . . ." She walks back to the counter and gets on it. "You were right here." She motions to the middle of her legs. "And you were going to slide one of these on." She holds up the condoms in her hand. "And fuck the shit out of me."

"Shelby." I say her name. "You are the only one who can make me laugh and get me hard all at the same time," I declare, walking to her. I grab her face in my hands.

"I'm one of a kind," she tells me with a smile on her face, and I want to tell her I've always known that, but instead, I just kiss her lips. "Hmm,” she moans when I push her back and open her legs more. She lifts her hips, and as soon as I throw her legs over my shoulder, my mouth devours her. "Now this is what I'm talking about." Her hands get buried in my hair, and for the rest of the night, we spend it naked.

The sound of her alarm rings as soon as I thrust inside her and come. "Now that," I say, lying on her and turning her to the side, "is what I call perfect timing."

She kisses my neck. "I'm still half asleep," she mumbles, and I laugh, pulling out of her and walking to her bathroom. I get rid of the condom, and when I walk out of the bathroom, she is on her stomach. I walk back into the bathroom and step in the shower expecting her to be up when I walk back out, but instead, she is still on the bed. I sit beside her and kiss her shoulder and she moans.

"Coffee?" I ask her, and she just mumbles as I grab my boxers and head downstairs. Grabbing my pants from where I left them in the middle of the kitchen, I put them on, then start the coffee. Opening the fridge, I see that she has enough things to make her an omelet that I know she loves. I whisk the eggs when I see her coming down the stairs with her hair piled on her head and wearing a robe. “Morning.” I smile at her, and I see a little drop of water on her neck.

“Morning,” she says, stopping and kissing my shoulder before walking over to the coffee machine to pour her coffee. “It smells so good,” she says, taking a sip of her coffee as she sits on a stool and watches me. I plate her omelet and then mine, going to sit next to her.

She takes a bite of her omelet and leans over to kiss my lips. "Does this still mean we're on island time?" I ask her, knowing that we definitely have to talk about things. At least I know that I have to talk about things. She just looks at me, and I can't tell what she is thinking, or maybe it's because I don't want to know what she's thinking. I get this uneasy feeling in my stomach. "What are we doing?" I finally ask the question I've been wanting to ask her for the last two days.

She puts down her fork, avoiding looking at me. "I have no idea," she says honestly.

"What do you want?" I put my own fork down, the food not feeling so well in my stomach.

"I don't know." She shrugs her shoulders. "What do you want?"

"I want to be able to take you out on a date," I tell her, and I can see her shoulders slump just a bit.

"Do you really think that's a good idea?" She looks at me. "Like, think about it. I was getting married a week ago, and now I'm dating." I don't say anything to her, and when I don't, I can see that she is getting nervous. Her hands shake a bit. "How would that make me look?" I can't say anything to her. I can't even find the words. All of them are stuck in my throat as I listen to her make excuses about why we can't do what I've been dying to do for the past fucking five years. "How would that look for you?"

"I don't give a shit about how it would make me look," I answer her finally.

"Well, I do," she says. "It's going to be like, oh look, he took her out because he felt sorry for her. I can't even imagine the gossip that went on when I left. I can just hear the whispers, and I am going to have to hold my head high when I walk into a shop and people see me and point." She looks down, and then I see a tear escape the corner of her eye. "I just can't do it." I take a deep breath as my heart pounds in my chest. Pushing away from the counter, I grab my white T-shirt from the floor. "Ace," she says my name and I take one more look at her.

"I guess I know where we stand," I clip, grabbing my shoes. "Have a nice day, Shelby," I say, walking out of the house and closing the door behind me.

Shelby

I grab my purse and get out of the car, slamming the door behind me. I take five steps toward the front door of the office before I realize I forgot my cell phone in my car. "Great," I say, walking back to the car and grabbing the phone from the passenger seat.

I'm closing the car door for the second time when I hear a car pull up, and I'm stupid enough to look up, hoping it's Ace. My heart speeds up in my chest, and when I look over, I see it's just Clarabella. "Morning," she greets, getting out of her car with a cup of takeout coffee.

"Shit," I say, turning and walking back to the car and grabbing the coffee from the middle console that I forgot. "Take three," I mumble to myself, closing the car again. I look up, seeing Clarabella waiting for me.

"Listen, I don't know what they did to you on that island. I know you said you did nothing but relax and chill all week long," she tells me when I get close enough, and we start walking up the stairs in unison, "but ever since you got back, your brain has been so fucking forgetful. I get it's hard to get back to the grind after vacation, but this is ridiculous, especially for you." I want to shout at her that I know, but if I do that, she’ll know something more is bothering me and right now, I'm not ready to discuss it. When I got back to the office on Monday, they were both waiting for me and wanted to know all the details, but all I told them was that we just relaxed and enjoyed the weather. I was lucky that my mother came in, and the talk changed, and they couldn't ask me more questions that I didn't want to answer, especially since my head was still spinning about him wanting to date me. All I could do when he left was look at his plate and then look at the door again. For whatever reason, I thought he was going to come back and be like let's talk about this. But he didn't. Instead, I got up and put the plates away and got ready for work. Because that was what was expected from me.

I look over at her ready to deny it when we see Presley arriving. "At least I'm on time," I mumble, looking over at Presley getting out of her car with her own coffee in her hand. "Morning." She waves at us, and I turn to walk up the stairs putting in the door code.

I walk into the office space and go straight for my office. I put my purse in the white chair facing my desk and sit down in the chair, turning on the computer. "You look like shit." I look up to see Presley walking in with her hair high in a ponytail.

"Why, thank you," I say, turning back to the screen and avoiding her. It's been two days since Ace left my house, two days of me pulling up his number on my phone and then closing it off. Two days of sitting on the couch replaying the past week in my head. Two days of replaying every single time I should have told him how I felt about him. Two days of wishing that I could erase the last two days.

"What are we talking about?" Clarabella asks, coming into my office with her coffee in one hand and her notepad in the other.

"I'm telling her how she looks like shit." Presley fills her in on what we were talking about.

"I was going to say that you were looking rough." Clarabella moves my purse to the couch and then comes back and sits down. "But I figured you knew."

"How the fuck would I know?" I lean back in my chair, and my head feels like it's about to get a headache, and it's only nine o’clock.

"I'm assuming you are looking at yourself in the mirror." Clarabella chuckles. "If you aren't, you should be. You have like dark circles under your eyes."

"You looked great when you got home," Presley informs me. "But then where did it go wrong?"

I can tell you where it went wrong, it went wrong when I turned around and told him that I didn't know if I was okay going out on a date. "Anyway, I don't think there is enough time to discuss why you look like shit."

"Great," I say, ignoring them as they start the meeting about the wedding on Saturday. I grab my notes, and I'm half listening to what they are talking about before my mouth starts talking. "Should I be dating?" I ask, and they both stop talking and look at me, each with surprise on their face.

"I'm sorry, what?" Clarabella says, closing her leather binder that she keeps her notes in. "I don't think I heard you."

"Are you shitting me right now?" Presley asks, shocked. "Like, are we actually having this conversation?"

"What?" I shrug my shoulders. "I'm just asking. I mean, Joseph was dating while we were about to get married. So, it's not strange if I'm thinking about dating now that I'm single."

"Who would you even date?" Presley asks and then looks at Clarabella, then they look back at me, waiting for me to give them a name.

"I don't know," I reply, avoiding their eyes because truth be told, I do know who I would date. I would date him in a heartbeat if I wasn't so fucking scared of the gossip that I let it take control of me. I was also scared of my image and how it would look if I started dating right away. With the guy whose girlfriend was fucking my fiancé. Would they think he took pity on me? Would they think I was taking pity on him? The questions are endless, but one thing is for sure. I miss him. I miss him so much. Not just his touch but also his smile. His voice. His laughter. "I haven't thought about that part yet. I'm just asking should I be dating."

"Well, I'm all for fall off the horse, get on the bull," Presley says, and we all look at her. "What?"

"You've been riding that same horse since you were eighteen," Clarabella says, and her mouth just opens wide in shock. I mean, it's no secret that she has a thing for Bennett, but we've never said it out loud. It’s been rough the last couple of years since he works about two hours away and only comes to town a couple of times.

"I've ridden a dozen horses." She crosses her arms over her chest, and we both know she's lying. "And don't look in my barn while you think no one knows about you trying to ride that horse that left town." She mentions Luke. He and Clarabella were working side by side as our main food vendor, who left town out of the blue a couple of months ago. Clarabella says it doesn't bother her, but I'm not sure about that one. The two of them were friends in college and drifted, but their paths crossed again when the kitchen caught on fire, and he saved the day.

Clarabella shrieks, "I never tried to ride that horse!” I roll my lips. "The horse tried to ride me."

"And you let him," Presley says, and all I can do is laugh at how my problem became about everyone else, except for me.

"This talk has been amazing," I say to them, putting my hands on the desk and getting up. "Some would say it's even been eye-opening."

They both roll their eyes at me. "Sit down. Do you have someone she could date?" Presley asks Clarabella.

"Okay, hold on for a second," I urge before this goes out of hand. "I don't want to date anyone."

"You just asked if you should be dating," Presley says. "And you don't want to date anyone."

"I don't want you guys to find someone for me to date is what I'm trying to say." My head spins. "I was just asking if I should be dating."

"What does that even mean?" Clarabella asks. "Either you want to date or you don't want to date."

"It's not that easy," I say, huffing.

"It's easier than that," Presley says. "All we have to do is sign you up for a dating app and let them do all the work for you."

"No." I shake my head. "Can we for once just not blow everything out of context and pay attention to my words?”

"We aren't blowing anything out of context," Clarabella pouts, folding her arms over her chest.

"We are giving you options," Presley says. "Let me ask you a question.

"Why do you think you shouldn't date?" she asks, and I just shrug my shoulders.

“Because a couple of weeks ago I was going to marry someone!” I finally shout. “I would be married right now if he didn’t fuck up and send me that email.” It takes me a second to let the pain come, but sadly, nothing but anger fills me. “Can you imagine I would have been married, and he would have still been with Sheila?”

“If you ask me, he did you a favor," Clarabella says. "Can you imagine you would have been married to him and then found out?"

"Or had kids and found out?" Presley adds. "Then what?"

"I don't know then what," I whisper, sitting down now. "I guess I'm lucky I found out when I did."

"How is Ace?" Clarabella asks, and I almost have whiplash when I look at her.

"What do you mean how is Ace?" I try not to let my voice rise. "How would I know how he is?”

"You spent a week with him on an island," Presley says the words slowly. "At a honeymoon resort. Was he as depressed as you were?"

"Um," I say, trying to find the words. "He was sad." For about a day, I say in my head, and then we fucked for the whole week, and to be honest, neither of us mentioned anything about Joseph or Sheila. I didn’t even think of Joseph until I got home, and they told me that they got rid of his shit. “He wanted to know if I knew and when I thought it happened.”

“I wonder if Sheila went to see him,” Clarabella says, and just the thought makes me ill. Like I am going to be physically ill with the thought of her going to him.

I’m about to snap at them when the phone rings. “I have things to do,” Clarabella states, getting up. “How about we have dinner tomorrow night, and we can talk about it?” She opens her hand. “More about you dating.”

“I’m going to make a list,” Presley says, getting up. “Just so we can know who is in the playing field.”

“Oh, dear God,” I mumble when they start to walk out.

“Are we putting Bennett on that list?” Clarabella jokes with Presley.

“We should also add Luke to that list,” Presley says, and they both tell each other to fuck off, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

I turn and look out the window seeing the sun coming in. “What the hell am I going to do?” I ask the empty room, expecting someone to answer me. Surely, someone knows what I should do. But the room remains silent. Actually, the only sound in the room is the beating of my heart.

Ace

"Well, you did it again," my father says, leaning against the bar. He picks up his glass of scotch, and I grab my own. "Closed another deal that everyone said couldn't be done." He smirks at me as I click my glass to his. The both of us are dressed in navy-blue suits and white button-down shirts but with no tie. His black hair turned more salt and pepper than black, his blue eyes just like mine.

I look around the restaurant that is starting to get busier and busier with the dinner crowd. It's attached to the hotel, so it was a no-brainer that we would all celebrate here. A majority of the people standing around the bar are my co-workers. When I got to work on Monday, we got word that one of the top real estate development companies was looking to sell off pieces. It was a huge deal, and after one phone call with my father, who worked in another office, we decided to join forces and see what we could do. So, we got on a plane an hour later, and for the last four days, we've been ironing out all the details. We finally got it done thirty minutes ago, and both offices are meeting for celebratory drinks. "It was a joint effort," I say, picking up my own glass of scotch and bringing it to my lips.

"For someone who just closed the deal of a lifetime," he starts to say, looking around. "You look like shit." I don't know why, but I laugh at how he didn't mince words.

I look over at him and lean against the bar. "It's been a crazy four days." I blame it on the work that we just did. For the past four days, we've been in a conference room going over numbers, fourteen hours a day, but in the back of my head still lingered the last conversation I had with Shelby.

"I'm not supposed to bring this up." It's my father's turn to laugh now. "And your mother will kill me if she finds out I'm even discussing this without her." I shake my head, knowing she probably gave him strict conversation topics. I called them on the way to the airport last week. I didn't give them much information, just that Sheila and I were no more. It was also six o’clock, so they were both sleeping, but I did get an in-detail text from my mother two days later when she got the whole story. I have yet to answer her back, and I know that she is giving me until this weekend before she pounces on me. "But well."

"But well, you have questions," I say to him. "I can only imagine." I put my hands on the bar, waiting for the questions to start.

"Not so many questions because your mother has all of them, and if she finds out that I got the answers before her, it'll be the end of the world." My father is the one who never asks a question. Ever. He is the quiet one, and whatever you tell him stays with him. He will never tell you what he knows. He will never gossip about it. My mother, on the other hand, wants to know everything. And I mean, everything, and then she'll call her cousins or sister and talk about it for hours. "I just want to know you're okay," he says, looking around. "Even though you barely got any sleep this week. Do you look like shit because of Sheila?"

"Actually, it's not the reason," I admit and take a sip of the scotch to think about what else I should say. "I don't think I loved her." He doesn't say anything. He just waits for me to continue my thoughts. "Like, if I think about it really hard. Maybe I thought I did. Maybe it's because I was caught up in the moment." I don't know what else to say.

"Well, if you are sitting here and she's not the reason you look like that." He points at me. "Then I'm going to go out on a limb and say you didn't love her. Maybe you thought you did. Maybe you just got wrapped up in the whole love thing because you thought that it was the next step."

I hang my head now. "She fucked Joseph." I tell him something that I didn't put in the text, but after being away for a week, I have no idea what he’s heard or not. "Imagine finding that out the day of his wedding." I shake my head. "She fucked my best friend. She's probably still fucking him, who knows. Who cares?"

"I heard," he says, shaking his head, and I don't know why I'm surprised.

"Who told you?" I shrug. "I mean, not that it matters."

"She did," he says, and it's my turn to be shocked. "She called us two days after you left. She was sobbing and looking for you." I laugh, grabbing my glass of scotch and finishing it. "Said she did a terrible thing, and all she wants is to talk to you."

"What did you tell her?" I ask him, and he puts his head down.

"I wanted to hang up on her," my father admits, "but your mother, well, she did not take that well and told her to fuck off and go find Jesus." I laugh because my mother isn't religious at all. "I wish that I could say that is all." I wait for him, and he laughs. "But then your mother had time to digest, and well, that didn't go well at all. She called her back and asked her how she could do such a thing and not only that, but how she thought she could call her and she would help find you. That ended with a go fuck yourself."

"Oh my," I say, shaking my head. "Well, that was." I laugh. "I haven't spoken to her since."

"How is Shelby taking it?" he asks, and just her name makes my stomach do flips, and I'm afraid to say anything when it comes to her, so I just shrug. "Your mother called her mother when she found out." My father finishes his scotch. "Let's just say I had to calm the whole 'let's destroy them' talk."

I laugh, and we are interrupted by a couple of people who come over and congratulate us, and my head goes to Shelby. I wonder if my mother called her to see if she's okay. I wonder if she is okay. I wonder if she misses me like I miss her. I wonder if she dreams about the week we had together like I do every fucking night. Dinner is a blur as we all eat, and everyone tries to make small talk.

I'm standing at the bar waiting to get a bottle of water when Jenna, my co-worker, comes over. "What are we drinking?" she asks with a smile on her face. She stands beside me with her hands on the bar.

"I'm getting a bottle of water," I tell her as soon as the bartender comes over. "What do you want?"

"We are going to have two shots of tequila." She holds up her fingers, and I just shake my head. "Two," she tells the bartender, and he turns away.

"I'm not drinking that," I tell her, laughing. She turns to look at me now.

"We're celebrating." She cocks her hip as she leans into the bar. I just shake my head and grab the bottle of water when the server comes back. "Come on." She holds her hand out for me. "Just one."

"Fine," I concede. "But it's a one and done," I say, and she just smiles big. We take the shot, and she sucks on her piece of lime.

"So, I heard through the grapevine," she starts to say, and I put the glass down on the bar. "That you’re single."

Well, it was only a matter of time before it got to my co-workers. "You heard right." I don't know why, but I feel like she's gotten closer to me.

"I'm not going to lie." She pushes her blond hair over her shoulder, leaning over and touching my hand. "I'm not upset about it." Her hand lingers on mine for longer than it should. She looks around now. "I'm staying in room eight fourteen," she says, getting closer to me. "If you want to come by and talk." She takes another step, and this time, there is no space between us. "Or not talk."

She turns around and walks back to the table, grabbing her jacket and purse.

I look down at my hand and then look back up again to see that she is walking out of the restaurant and headed to the hotel. I look around and see my dad talking with someone else and just hold up my hand to him. He nods as he continues the conversation.

I walk out of the restaurant to the elevators pressing the button for up. The doors open, and I step in, looking at the numbers and pressing it before the doors close.

Shelby

"So once you get set up here," Clarabella says to the bride that we are doing a walk-through with, "we get you and the wedding party ready for the day."

"It's beautiful," the bride gushes. "Absolutely stunning. Would it be possible to have a party here the week before?" She looks at me for the answer, and I have to admit I'm not even listening to what she's saying. I was doing the walk-through, and the only thing I could think about was how much I didn't want to be here. Which was killing me since I love my job. Love it. I wanted to love it again, but everything in my life is a mess, and there is nothing that I can do, which makes me even more crazy.

"I'm sorry," I say, shaking my head.

"Marcela was wondering if we can do a party here the week before for her bridesmaids' trial," Presley fills me in with a smile on her face and a “what the fuck” look in her eyes.

"I would have to check the dates," I try to cover up. "But I think that should be okay." I look at my sisters. "If you will excuse me, I have a call," I say, smiling to all of them when I walk away. The sound of my heels fills the corridor as I make my way to the bar. I grab a bottle of water, turning and walking to my office.

"What the fuck was that?" Clarabella questions, coming into my office and pointing at the door the minute I sit down and open my bottle of water.

"I was going over a list in my head,” I lie to her and avoid looking at her because she’ll see right through me.

"Listen, I don't know what's going on with you," Clarabella says. "But you need to go home and get that shit sorted out."

"You are not going to kick me out of my office." I stand up, angry.

"I'm not kicking you out of your office, idiot." She rolls her eyes. "I'm telling you to fix your head when you go home."

"Oh." I sit down. "Well, then, I admit I was not on the ball today."

"Well, the first step is admitting it," she says. "What is going on with you?"

"Nothing," I say, but my head is screaming everything is wrong. I keep driving by Ace's house, and there has been no one at his house, which means he's out of town. "I'm just off, maybe."

"Maybe you are suffering from PTSD from your wedding," Presley suggests, coming into the room. "Maybe you need to take more time off."

"I'm going to be fine, you two." I look at them.

"Well, it's a good thing we have the weekend off so you can take the rest of the week off and feng shui yourself," Presley says, sitting down on the couch. "Maybe go get a facial."

"Spa day." Clarabella nods. "We should have a spa weekend."

"I'm down," Presley adds. "I have this kink in my neck that has been bothering me all week."

"Sex," Clarabella says, looking at me. "You need to have sex. Maybe that will make the cobwebs go away."

"From her brain or her vagina?" Presley laughs. I get up and grab my bag.

"I'm leaving," I declare, walking out of the room with their laughter lingering behind me. Once I get in my car, I make my way home, but of course I stop by Ace's, seeing that his car isn't there. I get out of the car anyway and walk up to his front door. I ring the doorbell, hoping that by some miracle, he answers the door, but no one is there.

I try to swallow down the lump in my throat as I get back into my car and go home. Arriving home, I open the door, tossing my purse on the floor and slipping out of my shoes. I make my way upstairs to change out of my dress pants. I look at the bed that I haven't made since he left me in it. The pillow he slept on is in the middle of the bed because I held it last night. I turn, walking to the closet and putting on shorts and a tank top.

I stop in the kitchen for some ice cream before going over to the couch, and as soon as I sit down, the memories come back to me. Every single time I've gotten home, it's like my brain knows that I miss him, so it shoots out every single memory I have of him. I look over at the counter, and I can still picture him sitting there after he made me breakfast, telling me that he wanted to take me on a date. The way my heart felt like it was going to come out of my chest to the way my eyes stung when I heard him slam the door behind him. It was almost as if the nail sealed the coffin shut. I turn on the television, and my phone beeps from the hallway, where it’s still in my purse.

Getting up, I hear it ping again, and when I take it out of my purse, I see it's my sisters.

Clarabella: Let's get together for dinner.

Presley: I'm down. Where?

Clarabella: What about Pete's Brewery?

My hands move before I even have a chance to register.

Me: Is that safe?

Clarabella: Jesus Christ, I don't give a shit if Luke is there or not.

Me: Fine. I'm in. What time?

Clarabella: Five.

Me: See you guys there.

Clarabella: Reservation is under my name.

I regret it as soon as I put the phone down, but I know I have to get out of this house or I'll go crazy. Running back upstairs, I take a shower and get ready, going to the closet and grabbing my white jeans. I slide them on, grabbing a white sleeveless shirt, and I almost laugh, thinking about Ace moaning about everything being white. Just thinking about him again makes my chest hurt. I slip my feet into my brown sandals, then go into the bathroom and make sure my hair is okay. I brush on some mascara and see the bags under my eyes, and I see my eyes are not bright like they were the last week. "Dammit, Ace," I curse and turn to walk out of the bathroom.

I make my way to the restaurant, pulling open the door and hearing people talking. The hostess stand is empty with a sign that says please wait to be seated. I look around seeing if maybe my sisters have arrived. I see no one that I know and then take my phone out and text the group text.

Me: I'm here.

"Hi,” I hear the hostess say while I'm looking down at my phone waiting for my sisters to answer. "Do you have a reservation?"

"Yes, for Clarabella," I say and look down at my phone seeing that they haven't answered me.

"Right this way," the hostess says, walking all the way to the end of the place in the corner. The table is high as I sit down in one of the chairs looking toward the bar. I can see out both windows from my seat. "Someone will be by to take your order."

"Thank you," I reply when she puts two menus on the table. I grab one while the server comes over.

"Hi, I'm Todd, and I'll be your server," the young man says, smiling at me. "Can I start you off with something to drink while you wait?"

"I'll have a glass of white wine, please." I smile at him, and he nods at me, turning and walking away. I grab my phone and text them, seeing as no one has gotten back to me.

Me: I'm sitting on the right side in the corner.

Me: I ordered white wine.

Me: Should I order appetizers to share?

Me: Where the fuck are you?

I put the phone down, looking up and seeing that people are starting to come in since it's quitting time. The tables around me quickly fill up as the sound of dishes clanking and chatter fills the room. "Here you go," Todd says, putting down my drink. "Still waiting on more people?"

"Yes," I confirm, and he nods, walking away from me. I take a sip of the white wine when I see a guy walking toward my table. His black hair is brushed to the side, and his brown eyes are fixated right on me. I avoid looking at him as I turn to take another sip of my wine.

"Shelby." I hear my name and turn back to see the guy stop by my table.

"Yes," I respond, thinking to myself if I've met him before.

"Sergio." He says his name as if I’m supposed to know who he is. He pulls out a chair and sits down.

"Um," I say, about to tell him that my sisters are joining me. "Sorry, that chair is taken."

"I know," he says, smiling at me, and I look around so confused. "Clarabella said to tell you just go with it." Everything inside me turns to ice, and the only thing that I can think of is I'm going to fucking kill my sisters, especially when he says the next words. "I'm your blind date."

Ace

I slip the key into the door, pushing it open when it unlocks. The air around me is thick and stale from being closed for the past five days. I walk past the living room and up the stairs, dumping my bag on the bed. I shrug off my suit jacket and toss it on the made bed before kicking off my shoes and stepping into the shower.

My head is telling me to go and see Shelby. My heart aches to talk to her, yet my pride is fighting me all the way. Even when I put jeans on and a T-shirt, my hands itch to pick up my phone and call her. But instead of doing that, I open the fridge and see that it's empty. I grab my keys and head out to the pub to grab myself something to eat.

Parking the car, I get out and take the phone. Every single day it gets heavier and heavier with the need for me to just call her. I'm walking to the door, and my heart stops when I see her walking out just a couple of feet from me. She looks even more beautiful than she did the last time I saw her. She looks even more beautiful than in my dreams. She's fucking exquisite. I see her look behind her, and she smiles as she holds the door. My heart hammers in my chest, knowing she is so close to me. My hands get itchy to touch her, and my whole body feels like it can relax. She looks up and spots me. Her face goes a bit white, and her mouth opens, but my eyes go to the guy behind her smiling down at her. "Hi," I greet, not sure what to say or how to act.

"Ace," she says my name in a surprised tone.

"Hi," I say again like an idiot, and I look over at the guy who stands beside her with his hand on her lower back.

"This . . ." She starts to stutter. "This is Sergio." She turns to introduce him, and my hand grips the phone in my hand. My body that was so happy to see her has closed off. My heart that was beating hard in my chest has fallen to my stomach. "Sergio, this is my best friend, Ace."

He laughs from beside her. "Hopefully, next time we meet, she'll admit that she is on a date with me." The words stab me in the heart.

I look at him and then at her. "One can hope. If you excuse me, I have a call," I say, avoiding talking to her as I turn and walk away, not even giving her the time of day. I hear her calling my name, but I just walk to the car, my head going around and around. I don't even look back when I leave. My phone starts ringing, and I see on the screen that it's her. I press the decline button as I make it home.

I ignore the pounding in my head. I ignore the way my heart is about to burst out of my chest. I ignore the pain coursing through me while I walk to the cabinet and take the bottle of scotch out. I unscrew the top and take the longest gulp of my life. The burning is all the way down my chest. I put the bottle down and place my hands on the counter, making my head hang. "What the fuck?" I say to myself as soon as I hear a knock on the door.

I think about not answering, but my feet move faster than my brain. I open the door, and there she is, standing there. "It's not what it looks like," she says, her eyes filled with tears.

"It doesn't matter," I reply, shaking my head. Instead, I feel like I'm being drowned. Like someone is pushing my head underwater, and I can't come up. "You said that you didn't want this." I point at her and to myself.

"I never said that," she snaps and takes a step toward me, but I move back, and she stops moving. Her hand trembles, and I hate that I did this to her. Hate that my words hurt her like that. "I said that I didn't think it was a good idea for you to take me out on a date." I raise my eyebrows. "It is not what it looked like."

"At the end of the day, you said that you wanted to keep this a secret." I put it in my own words. "By you not wanting me to take you out on a date, that meant you wanted to be a secret."

"It's not that, I just . . ." She wipes away a tear, and if my heart didn't feel broken before, it does now. "I can't." I hold my hand up.

"I was cheated on and lied to." The words come out with no emotion in my voice. "And I'm not going to do that anymore." I swallow down the lump in my throat. "I'm sorry." I close the door in her face. My hand is still on the handle as my head falls forward. I close my eyes, listening to her car door slam before turning back and heading to the bottle of scotch.

Shelby

The door slams in my face, and all I can do is stand here stunned. To be honest, I don't blame him one bit. I tell him I can't date him, and the next minute, I'm walking out of the pub with a guy. The minute Sergio said the word date, I knew this was not going to end well.

When I called his name, and he ignored me, I knew that he was hurt. Fuck, if the roles were reversed, I would have kicked him in the balls and turned away. The whole time over to his house, all I could see was the look on his face. The look of hurt, but then he masked it for me not to see it, but when he swung the door open, there was no denying what that look was. It was heartbreaking to see. It broke me knowing that I'm the one who caused this.

I get in the car, and the rage rips through me. "Fuck!" I shout, and my car pulls up to the house. I get out of the car, not even bothering to turn it off because I'm not going to be here long. I stomp up the steps and press the bell, and the whole time, the hurt in me turns to anger.

I hear footsteps come closer to the door, and I stand tall. He opens the door. "Shelby," he says, shocked and surprised.

"Why did you do it?" I ask the question that I asked all night long. "Why cheat on me?"

He puffs out, shocking me. "Please, like you give a shit," he hisses, and I'm the one shocked. "How was our honeymoon?" His head advances. "With Ace," he sneers. I'm about to answer him, but he doesn't stop there. "Bet you enjoyed it with him better, didn't you?" I take a second to listen to his words. "Why can't you be more like Ace?" he mimics what I said to him once. "Why can't you support me the way Ace does?" His voice starts to go higher, and I laugh.

"I'm sorry, what?" I put my hand to my head, shaking it. "You're jealous." It all makes sense now. "You're jealous of Ace."

"Why, because he makes more money than me?" The venom coming out of his mouth . . . I'm shocked that I never saw it. He never ever showed me this side of him. "Why, because he got his dream job, and I have to kiss everyone's ass to succeed?" He stands up straight. "He may have all those things, but what I have is charm." I want to laugh at him. "I fucked every single one of his girlfriends from high school to college to you and then to Sheila. You know why, because I could and because I'm better than him."

I can't help but laugh out loud. "You are so wrong," I inform him. "He's worth more than you are, and you know that. Deep down inside, you know that you are nothing compared to him. It's why it eats you up inside. It's probably why you went after me. To get to him." I can't help but put my hands on my head and laugh. "It all makes sense now. Lying to me about you being the one who kissed me." His face goes white now, shocked that I know. "Yeah, I found out."

"So, what?" He folds his arms over his chest. "Big flipping deal I lied about kissing you. You were so busy trying to ride Ace's dick you didn't even know the difference."

"Trust me, anyone who was with either of you knows the difference." I look at him and down at his cock. "He beats you in more ways than one." I turn, walking away from him. "Oh, by the way," I say, stopping and turning around. "Thank you." I tilt my head to the side and smile at him sweetly.

"For what?" he says, leaning against the doorjamb.

"For fucking Sheila." I smirk at him. "I have to say, though, not sure why she kept coming back for more when she had Ace at home." I turn around and hold up my hand, wiggling my fingers. "Bye-bye, one-minute man."

I get into the car at the same time as he slams his door. I put my car in drive and make my way over to my mother's house, knowing they’ll be there waiting. I am not wrong. When I show up and step out of the car, they are sitting on the porch.

"She doesn't look that mad," Clarabella says, getting up from her chair.

"She looks pissed AF," Presley declares from beside her. "It was her idea." She points at Clarabella, who just hits her hand.

"It was both of us," Clarabella says, "but it was Presley who accepted the date with Sergio." She points at Presley, who slaps her hand.

"Do you guys know what you did to me today?" I ask. "By putting me in that situation." I look at them.

"Oh, come on, don't be so dramatic." Clarabella folds her arms over her chest. "It wasn't so bad."

"He could have been a serial killer," I point out to them.

Presley rolls her eyes. "His profile picture is him with a kitten. I hardly say that screams serial killer."

"Have you not watched Don't Fuck With Cats?" I counter, my heart rate starting to go back up again. "You guys crossed the line today." I shake my head. "And to top it all off, Ace caught me on this 'date.'" I use air quotes. The pain in my chest is almost unbearable.

"So what?" Presley says, confused, putting her hands on her hips.

"So what?" I shriek, throwing my arms in the air. "It's not just so what." My breath is starting to come in pants. I lean down and put my hands on my knees while I look up at them, trying to get my breathing under control. "It's more than so what."

"And why is that?" Clarabella asks with a smirk on her face. I shouldn't just blurt this out. I should wait until I talk to Ace before I say anything. But if it wasn't for these two morons, I wouldn't be having a fucking panic attack in the middle of my mother's walkway.

"Because we had sex." I finally throw my hands up in the air, putting my head back and taking a deep breath of air.

"A-ha, I knew it," Presley says. "That glow was a tan," she mimics my words. "My fucking ass that glow was I got laid and laid good." She points at me.

"Yeah, well, I did," I admit and swallow. "It was better than good. It was out of this fucking world." My arms flail around me. "There is no number to do it justice."

"Forgive me," Clarabella says, holding up her hand. "But I don't see the big issue in all of this."

I glare at her, and with my teeth clenched, I tell her, "He wanted to date me, and then I said no because it was too soon." My hands fist at my sides as I say it.

"How can it be too soon?" Clarabella asks. "The minute small dick cheated on you, it was fair game."

"I just didn't want it to seem like I jump from guy to guy," I finally snap. "Which is why I told him no." My heart starts to speed up again, and my chest tightens when I think about it.

"Well, that isn't our fault," Presley says while Clarabella nods. "That's your fault." She points at me. "This is a you problem and not a we problem." She points at her and then at Clarabella. "We were just trying to help."

"You want to help?" I tell them. "Help me win back my man."

Ace

The elevator door opens, and I step out into the reception area. "Good morning." I nod at Sonia, who just nods at me as she answers the phone.

I make my way into my office, ignoring the throbbing in my head. I should have worked from home today, but it was a long fucking weekend. After I slammed the door in her face, I went to my room and packed a bag. I thought going to my parents' was a good idea. Ten minutes into the visit, I realized it was, in fact, the worst idea I'd ever had.

My mother was all over me all weekend long, making sure I was okay and whispering when she thought I couldn't hear her. If I heard "it's all right, dear" one more time, I was going to lose my shit. So instead of wallowing by myself in my house, I had to pretend to be okay, or else my parents would think that I was still pining away about Sheila, which I definitely was not.

I got back late last night to a Post-it note on my door.

We need to talk.

And it's not Sheila.

I didn't want to laugh, but I did anyway. I took the Post-it down and walked into the house, and ten minutes later, the doorbell rang. My heart sped up in my chest as I thought it would be her. I didn't know if I was even ready to talk to her. The only thing I knew was that regardless I needed to have a conversation with her. But when I pulled open the door, there was a white box. I looked to see if she was around, but I didn't see her. I took the box into the house and sat down. My heart was beating so fast in my chest when I took the top of the box off and unfolded the white tissue paper. I saw a framed picture of us from when we first met. I held the frame in my hand as a note fell off it.

Ace,

The beginning.

Not Sheila.

I couldn't stop the laughter that came out of me. Only she could make me this crazy and laugh at the same time. I took the picture with me to my bedroom and placed it beside my bed. The whole time, I tossed and turned, thinking about her. I gave up at five o’clock and went to run on the treadmill, and there I was, getting ready to start the day. But I just felt off.

I sit in my chair and boot up the computer, grabbing the pile of mail that accumulated in the past week since I've been gone. "Good morning," Tania, my assistant, says, coming in with a bouquet of white roses. My eyebrows pinch together when she smirks at me. "These are for a Mr. Ace." She puts them down on the middle of the desk. "They are so pretty," she says. "And white." She turns and walks out of my office, leaving me with my mouth hanging open.

The two dozen white roses are in front of me with a white card with black writing, Mr. Ace. I turn the card over in my hand and pull out another white card. In the middle of the card, all that is written is:

From the Mrs.

I put the card down on the table and turn in my chair to look out the window. I feel lost without her. I feel like half of me is missing. I feel like every day is a wasted day. A knock on the door has me look over, and I'm expecting it to be anyone but her.

"Hi," she says, and I can see that she has lost weight. Her bright eyes look bloodshot, and her nose looks like she's been crying. "Figured that if I came by here, you wouldn't make a scene and throw me out." She steps into my office wearing tight blue jeans with a baby-blue spaghetti strap top, tied in a bow in the middle of her chest and then falling down in the front. It makes her blue eyes pop even more. Her high-heeled sandals make her legs look even longer. "I just need a minute, and then I'll leave." She holds her hands in front of her and holds her bag. "We need to talk."

"I think everything that needs to be said was said," I retort, my chest hurting with every single minute that she stands in front of me.

"That's where you're wrong." She blinks away the tears threatening to fall. "My sisters set me up on that blind date without telling me," she starts to say, and everything inside me starts to fall down. "They said let's meet for dinner, but when I showed up, so did the blind date." She tries to laugh, but instead, it comes out more like a sob. She puts her hand to her mouth, and I can see it shaking. "I mean, they put me on a dating website." My mouth opens in shock. "Which I have since deleted."

"Why?" The question comes out in a soft whisper.

"Because." She shrugs her shoulder. "There is really only one person I want to date right now."

I start to get up from my chair, but she holds up her hand to stop me. "Don't say anything right now." She puts her shoulders back, and I could not want to kiss her more. "It's one thing to be shut down when you're asking a guy on a date." She smiles through the tears trying to make a joke. "It's another when he does it to your face, so . . ." She takes a step forward and opens her purse, taking out a white envelope at the corner of my desk. "If you show up, great." She looks at me in the eyes. "If you don't, I'll understand." She nods at me, turns, and walks out of my office.

I get up, ready to chase after her, but don't want to cause a scene in the office. I walk out of the office just as she walks around the corner with her head down. She makes eye contact with no one, and everything inside me burns. I walk back to my desk and grab the envelope, pulling it open.

A baseball ticket slides out, and I laugh. When we were in college and wanted to get out of our head, we used to buy tickets to the baseball game where we would eat hot dogs and drink beer until the very end. Our seats were all the way at the other side of the stadium in the nosebleed section, and every single time, she brought a baseball glove in case.

"Well played, Shelby. Well played." I shake my head and sit down at my desk.

Shelby

I sit down in the seat, watching the baseball game that started thirty minutes ago. My leg bounces up and down as the minutes tick by. My stomach rises and falls every single time I think I see him walking to me, but then it turns out not to be him.

My hands shake as my phone pings, and I look down, seeing it's my sisters.

Clarabella: Is he there yet?

Me: No.

Presley: What are you going to do if he doesn't show up?

I put the phone down, not even able to think about what I'll do if he doesn't show up. My eyes are watching the game while I replay the scene this morning over and over in my head. He looked exhausted, and all I wanted was for him to take me in his arms and kiss me. It's been a week since he last kissed me, and at night, if I close my eyes tight enough, I can still feel his lips on mine. I left his office, and I could barely see in front of me. My eyes were filled with tears, and only when I was in the safety of my car did I let the sob come out. I spent the whole day pacing in my office, watching the minutes go by, and it felt like hours. When it was finally time to leave, I changed out of my office clothes and put on black tights with a white T-shirt. Exactly what I used to wear when we would go watch the games together. My jean jacket is rolled up at the sleeves with a baseball hat on my head.

I look at my watch again and see that another thirty minutes have gone by. The pit of my stomach falls when another thirty minutes go by, and it's pretty clear he's not showing up. I put my head down as a tear escapes, running down my cheek. I fucked it up so bad, I think to myself when I wipe the tear off my cheek only to have another escape. I look up and see that the game is literally almost over. This was stupid. I pushed myself on him too much. I should have waited for him to come to me. I regret every single thing that I did the last two days. Camping out almost at his house to catch him. Leaving only to go to sleep and then racing back over. When I saw him get back home, I almost got out of my car and ran over to him. Instead, we had this stupid plan to woo him, which only pushed him farther away.

I feel someone sit next to me, and I look up to see him. "Is this seat taken?" he asks, and I see that he's wearing exactly what he used to wear. His blue jeans and white shirt with a brown jacket.

"That depends," I say as the tears escape me, and I look at him, the smile filling my face.

"On?" His leg is pressed against mine, and a shiver runs through my body. He takes a second to look around. "It's really empty up here."

I laugh through the tears now. "I bought all the seats," I inform him.

He whips his head around to look back at me. "What?"

"Well, if you weren't going to show up, I needed to sulk in private, and then if you did show up, I wanted to have an open conversation without people listening," I state, wondering how this conversation will actually play out. "To be honest, I was thinking you weren't going to show up." I look down.

"I took an Uber here." He starts to talk. "And she got rear-ended by this truck who got rear-ended by another, and it was a clusterfuck and a disaster. She was crying. It was her first day, and then she had to call her mom to come and get her." He shakes his head and laughs. "But I'm here."

"I missed you," I tell him.

"I missed you more," he whispers, putting his arm around my chair, and I turn to face him.

"I'm sorry," I say softly.

"There is no reason for you to be sorry," he says, his hand coming up to cup my face. "I should have given you time to think about things instead of just demanding that we jump into the water." He shakes his head. "And then I had to leave for work, and coming back, all I wanted to do was see you and talk to you, and it just—"

"It hurt you," I say for him. "I hurt you."

"I hurt you," he says softly. "Not coming after you today was the hardest thing I've ever done. There is already gossip about Sheila, and I just didn't want the extra gossip." He looks down. "Plus, I don't know how long PG would have lasted." I laugh.

"I went to see Joseph." I want to make sure that he knows everything. "After I left your house."

"Do I want to know?" he asks as I can see him swallow.

"Well, he's still a dick." I laugh at him. "And he’s jealous of you," I disclose to him.

"No surprise there," he says. "I don't care." He comes close to me, and my heart speeds up. "Shelby," he whispers. "I can't do this if we're a secret."

"I wouldn't want you to be a secret," I tell him. "Not now. Not ever. You deserve more." I smile at him.

"I deserve you," he tells me. "After all this time, I deserve you."

The crowd starts to go crazy, making us look up, and we see ourselves on the screen with a heart around it. "It's the kiss cam," I say, smiling and putting my hand on his leg.

I look up at him. "It's about time," he says, turning and grabbing my face in his hands. "It's about fucking time."

Ace

She looks up at me, her blue eyes shining exactly like they did when we were away. "It's about time." I grab her face in mine. "It's about fucking time."

"What?" she whispers out on my lips, getting closer and closer to me.

"I paid the guy to make sure I got to kiss you." I shrug as people chant kiss.

"Yes, please," she says, the smile on her face so fucking big her eyes light up. My own smile fills my face, and my chest that felt pressure for the past week feels like I can breathe again. My lips finally land on hers, and the stadium erupts. She laughs when I let her go and then turn back to look at the camera and throw my hands in the air. She laughs and shakes her head but not before I take another kiss from her. This time my tongue slides into her mouth, and we get lost in the kiss.

"Do you want to get out of here?" I look at her, touching her face with my hand, and she nods. I get up and hold out my hand for her. She puts her hand in mine as she gets up, and instead of letting it go, she links her fingers with mine.

I let her lead the way to her car. We zigzag through people, both of us looking at each other from time to time and smiling. Each time she leans into me, until I finally release her hand and wrap an arm around her shoulders. She looks up at me, and I stop to kiss her lips as soon as I hear someone call my name. "Weston." I look over and see Sheila standing there holding a beer and a hot dog. She looks at me and then looks at Shelby, then her eyes go to the arm that I have around her. "Um," she says, not sure, and I look down at Shelby, who looks at me and then at Sheila.

"I'm going to go to the bathroom," Shelby says, and even though I don't want her to leave me, I know that she's giving me the chance to have a private conversation with Sheila.

She smiles up at me. I don't want to let her go. She takes a step away from me, but I pull her back to me. "Hurry back," I urge and lean down to kiss her lips.

She nods at me and turns to walk to the bathroom. "You two are . . ." Sheila starts to say. I look at her, putting my hands in my pockets. "That was fast."

I chuckle. "At least I waited until I wasn't dating anyone to take the step."

Sheila just shakes her head. "I never wanted you to find out," she admits, and I can't even believe that I'm having this conversation with her.

"It doesn't matter," I finally say to her. "The fact is that you did it." I shake my head. "Not that it matters, but why?"

"He always gave me special attention. He made me feel wanted," she finally replies. "He made me feel like I was number one in his life." Her eyes turn to look toward where Shelby went. "It was no secret who was number one in your life."

"No." I shake my head, and I don't even give her a chance. "I was with you. Committed to you and only you."

"I fucked up," she finally says. "I fucked up so bad there is no other way to say it. If I could go back, I would do it differently."

"Well, you can't change what you did." I look up and see Shelby waiting in the distance, giving me the time I need. I catch her eye and motion with my head for her to come over. She makes her way over to me and she stands next to me, not knowing what to say. I smile down at her, and I slip my hand into hers. "Are you ready?" I ask her, and then she nods and turns to look at Sheila.

"I owe you a thank-you," she says. I'm shocked, and so is Sheila. "I thanked Joseph also." She wraps her arms around my waist. "If you guys hadn't done what you did, it would have taken us longer to get here." She looks at me. "We were always going to be here." I rub her arm. "Also not that it matters, but dumb." She looks up at me and then looks at Sheila. "Having all this." She squeezes me. "But then going to Joseph. I hope you two will be very happy."

"It was over for a while," Sheila says. "I'm sorry that I played a part in that, and for that, I will forever be sorry. That isn't me."

"Have a great night," I tell her and then look down at Shelby. "Ready to go home?"

"Yes," she says, and when we walk away from Sheila, she waits a couple of minutes before speaking. "Are you okay?"

"How did you feel when you confronted Joseph?" I ask her as we step out of the stadium and head toward the parking lot.

"Um, well, I was pissed at first," she says. "But that was because you slammed the door in my face." She side-eyes me, glaring, and I lift her hand to my mouth, kissing her. "So I went in guns blazing." I know I should be angry that she had to go through that, but knowing her, she totally went in there for the fight of her life. "It didn't solve anything, nor did it give me the sort of closure I was looking for." She stops walking. "What it did do was show me that he wasn't worth my time." The wind picks up, and she leans her head back, and I take off the hat she has on her head. "That no matter what I did, I wasn't the problem. He was." She steps into me now, her hands going to my hips. "I did get to call him a one-minute man and tell him he has a small dick." I throw my head back and laugh. "But other than that, it was just a whatever." She kisses my neck. "What happened with Sheila?"

"Much of the same," I tell her, pushing her hair away from her face. "Minus the one-minute-man and small-dick thing, but you got there to remind her."

"Did seeing her . . ." She takes a big breath, looking down and then up again. "Did seeing her . . ." She swallows. "Did you change your mind?" She smiles at me. "It's okay if you did. I'd understand."

"The only thing it did," I assure her, stopping her from even thinking anything, "is made it even clearer that I'm where I'm meant to be."

"Does this mean that we can go and have make-up sex?" She gets on her tippy-toes and rubs her nose along my jaw.

"God, sex with you was already off the charts. Make-up sex is going to be . . ." I stop talking because she turns to grab my hand and pulls me, making me laugh. "Keys?" I say, and she just tosses the keys, not giving me any lip, which makes me look at her.

"I have to drive you crazy while you drive," she says, smirking at me, getting in the car. I get in the car and turn to her, and she’s already shrugging off her jacket.

"I have to drive," I tell her sternly.

"Then get to driving." She motions with her hands. "No one is stopping you."

"I need to focus," I remind her, starting the car and pulling out of the parking lot.

"I'm not doing anything," she says, looking around. Then she raises her hips, and I see her slide her tights off.

"Shelby," I say between clenched teeth.

"I'm not doing anything," she huffs, tossing the tights behind her. "I'm just going to be ready for you when we get home." She turns and looks at me. "Remember that day when it was cloudy outside?" I look over at her. "And we went in the pool, but you set me at the ledge." Her knee bends as she opens her legs. "Pushed my bottoms to the side and ate my pussy." I groan loud, holding the steering wheel so tight I might break it off. "Or the night after we ate dinner and we went to sit in that swing." She mentions the wicker swing that was tucked away. "And you unzipped your pants and uncovered your cock." Her voice goes low. "I slowly slipped my dress up in the back and then rode you." Her head goes back. "That was good. Or the time you couldn't wait to get back to the room so you could fuck me in the middle of the deck."

"Remember that morning," I tell her, pulling into her driveway, "when I ate your pussy for an hour and refused to let you come." She just stares at me. "How I would fuck you with my fingers and feel you getting wetter and then just stop." I lean over, moving her shirt up and seeing her white panties. I slip them to the side and slide two fingers in. "Remember all the times I would touch you right here." I touch her G-spot, and she moans. "And then pull out." I pull my fingers out, cleaning them in my mouth. "Or the time in the bathroom when I made you watch me fuck you. You watched your pussy swallow my cock." She closes her eyes. "And right when you came, I would slip out and slap your clit with my cock."

"Ace," she moans my name. "I think you deserve for me to show you."

"No," she groans as I open the car door and look at her.

"Don't move," I tell her, getting out of the car and looking around to make sure no one is out of their house. I open her car door, taking off my jacket, but the little vixen is completely naked. I whip my jacket off me and put it around her shoulders. "What the fuck?"

"I've been without you for a week," she says, slipping her tongue into my mouth and then nipping my bottom lip. "So when you get me in the house, I want your cock out, and I want it rammed into me." She slides her tongue in my mouth again, and this time, I suck it in. "Just like you did on the island. My legs over your arms." Her hand comes out as she rubs my hard cock through my jeans. "My pussy open and your cock slamming into me." She unbuttons me. "And after you finish fucking me, I want you to finish in my mouth." I close my eyes to take a second. "I want to swallow all of you."

“Hold the jacket,” I say, and it fits her big, covering everything.

"Are you not going to carry me?"

"If I carry you, I'm fucking you in the middle of this fucking driveway," I say over my shoulder, making sure she's covered.

I walk up the steps to the front door with her behind me. She slides her hands to the front of my pants and slides the zipper down. Her hand’s in my boxers, and I can't even see the numbers on the pin pad. "Fuck, he’s ready," she says, and she wraps her hand around the base of my cock. "I want to suck your cock," she states, and the door finally opens. I usher her in before I step in and close the door behind me.

She pushes me against the door. My jacket goes flying, but I don't have time to think about anything because she's on her knees swallowing my cock. "Fuck," I hiss as she sucks my cock. "One more second," I tell her, giving her a warning while my hand gets lost in her hair and my hips move to fuck her mouth. I move away from her when my balls get tight, knowing I'm about to come. She moans, and I turn her around, pushing her back against the door. "I really wanted to take my time with you," I say as my hands come up and pinch both nipples at the same time. "Spread you out and fuck you nice and slow." I pinch her nipples again, knowing how much it turns her on. One hand slides down to her pussy and slips right in. "You ready for me?" I ask, knowing she is dripping wet. I wrap my arm around her waist, and her legs open to wrap around my waist. I push her harder against the door, putting my hands flat under her ass against the door. Her legs hang over on each side, her pussy open for me. "Put me in," I tell her, and she reaches between us and guides my cock into her. Both of us moan when I thrust balls deep inside her.

"Ace," she moans my name. "Fuck me." She doesn't have to tell me again as my hips push her deeper into the door. The sound of skin-on-skin slapping fills the room along with our moans. "I'm going to . . ." She wraps her arms around my neck as she comes with my name on her lips. "Ace."

"Baby." I moan out and I'm about to come.

"In my mouth," she says as she wiggles off me and falls to her knees in front of me. "Yes," she says, taking me into her mouth.

"Baby," I say as my hips move to fuck her mouth, and here in the middle of the entryway, I come in her mouth. She swallows everything I have, only getting up when I'm done. "Shelby.” I say her name, and she kisses under my chin.

"Now you can take me into the room and fuck me like you said before." She walks past me, and I watch her walk up the stairs, following her where I fuck her exactly like I said I would. Over and over, all night long, we catch up on the week we didn't see each other.

"Get out." She pushes me out of the shower after I make her come on my fingers. "And go make me something to eat."

"I got something for you to eat right here." I point down at my cock that is ready for another round.

"Go," she says, closing the shower door on me. "Food." I grab a towel and dry myself off before wrapping it around my waist. I get to the kitchen, and it falls to the floor, so I put it over my shoulder. "Are you cooking my food?" she yells, and I hear the shower turn off.

I laugh, turning and pulling things out of the fridge. I walk over to the living room, grabbing the remote and turning on the television. My eyes are on the television when I see the front door open out of the corner of my eyes, and everything happens in slow motion.

"It's fine," Clarabella says. Then her eyes turn to me, and she yells out, "Oh my God!”

She turns around, smacking into Presley, who stands there with an open mouth. "Oh my God." My hand drops to cover my cock.

"Damn, Ace, you've been hitting the gym hard," Presley comments, looking at me up and down like I'm a piece of meat. I'm about to yell for Shelby when I look up and see her.

"Jesus Christ." I hear Shelby from the top of the stairs with a towel wrapped around her, her wet hair dripping everywhere. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"You didn't answer your phone," Clarabella says, holding her hand to block herself from looking my way. "We didn't know if you were drowning in your sorrows."

"She definitely swallowed something last night," Presley teases, smirking at me. "From the looks of it"—she looks at Clarabella—"it was big," she whispers but in a loud tone.

"Why are you naked?" Shelby looks at me. "What happened to your towel?"

"It fell off, so I threw it over my shoulder," I say. "Can everyone turn around so I can cover myself?"

Presley just rolls her eyes. "We've already seen the family jewels," she replies, turning around. Clarabella had already turned around. I grab the towel from the floor and wrap it around myself.

"I'm going to go," I say, walking to the stairs and stopping in front of Shelby. "Maybe next time you can put a sock on the door so they know."

"I'm changing the code," she tells me, smiling at me. "Love you," she says, and Clarabella and Presley gasp and look over at us. "I didn't." She starts to stutter. "It's like a friendly I love you. Like you know, love you." She puts her hand on her forehead.

"Smooth," Clarabella says.

"I told the milkman I loved him today," Presley deadpans. "And then the Amazon delivery guy got there, and I was like thank you, I love you. Happens all the time." She motions with her hand like it's nothing.

"Love you, too," I whisper, leaning down and kissing her lips. "And not in a friendly way." Her eyes light up even brighter. "Now get rid of your sisters."

"We are right here," Clarabella reminds me, huffing.

"We brought food," Presley bribes, "but we left it in the car."

"We need food," Shelby says to us. "Go put clothes on." She motions with her head.

"If you need his jeans and boxers," Clarabella says. "They are over there." She points with her finger.

"I'll get it," Shelby states. "You go to my room."

I nod at her and walk to her bedroom, still hearing their conversation. "Why does the whole house smell like sex?" Clarabella asks. "This is what a brothel must smell like."

"I'm not eating anywhere in this house," Presley gripes. "His balls could have literally touched every surface in this house, and I'm not going to eat there. No, thank you."

I sit on the bed and wait for her to come back. "I'm so sorry," she says, coming into the room with my jeans pressed to her chest, holding up the towel.

"Come here," I tell her, and she comes over to me and stands between my legs. My hands go to her hips. "I meant what I said," I assure her, and she smiles down at me, putting her hands on my face.

"They just left," she jokes with me as she laughs.

"Very funny," I say, pulling her to me as the towel falls off her, and she straddles me. "I love you, Shelby." Truer words have never been spoken before. "For real."

"You don't have to say—" I put my hand up to block her from talking.

"Just kiss me," I say, and she does exactly what I asked her to do.